


Dual

by blue_nebulae



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bonding, F/M, Friendship/Love, Gendrya - Freeform, Rare Pairings, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2019-10-29 12:44:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17808194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_nebulae/pseuds/blue_nebulae
Summary: Duality, it’s what rules this world. Everything has an opposite that compliments it. Everybody knows it a longs to find it. Most people call it a soulmate, almost everyone he knows is looking for their own soulmate as if they wanted to be whole once and for all.





	1. Chapter 1

Duality, it’s what rules this world. Everything has an opposite that compliments it. Everybody knows it a longs to find it. Most people call it a soulmate, almost everyone he knows is looking for their own soulmate as if they wanted to be whole once and for all.

 

 

Most of people he knew were already paired, most met theirs as kids or during high school. He was one of the few who was still alone in this world. Gendry had heard of people who were born without a soulmate, his mother had been one of those, after all. She was a loner, ones that never found or were born without a soulmate, and never felt the need to look for it as she tried to live her life until sickness took her.

 

 

Particularly, he never did much to find his own. IF he was paired, he just assumed he would find his soulmate eventually, if not it was perfectly fine. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was to spend his life alone, everyone abandoned him. His father never cared for him or his mother, just gave him a powerful last name and paid for tuition on that fancy school he so much despised, the place where he met many of his half siblings from his father’s side. His own mother was the one that busted her ass off working to make sure he had a roof over his head and food on the table before cancer consumed her.

 

 

Many people had told him that you knew the moment you meet your soulmate yet nobody could explain it to him. When his half-sister Mya found hers, she only could say that it was as if the world was new, she felt him near and when she turned around that was it, she just knew. It was something that saddened him, her finding her mate because it meant she was not going to be around that often. They were half-brothers from the same scumbag of a father. They both looked too much alike, which meant they looked like their father, Robert Baratheon a wealthy business guy. His mark was their blue eyes, tall frame and dark thick hair and they all looked like him, even more than the blond kids that appeared next to him and his wife on magazines.

 

 

While working he could see how couples came in with their cars to the shop, when the clients tried to start some sort of small chat they always ended up asking how he met his soulmate while he was working on their cars. When he said he didn’t have one people always looked at him with pity and told him that his time would come soon.

 

 

He lived his life as it was, soulmateless. He felt whole and it didn’t bother him, so why people pitied him? He was reasonably happy. He had a job he was good at, he attended his last year of university and he had a group of friends, he had a comfortable life. He could go on like this.

 

 

Now he was arriving to a bar he usually never goes, because he was going to meet his sister Mya’s friends and her infamous soulmate. As soon as his sister saw him she jumped to hug him and introduced him to everyone.

 

 

“Guys, this is my younger brother Gendry” she was so excited when she started to introduce him to a bunch of people “This is Jon, his brother Robb, his friend Theon, I think you already know Beric and Tom, their friends Thoros, Tom and Lem and this” – pointing towards a tall, skinny ginger sitting on the booth’s corner – “this is my soulmate, Anguy”. The guy stood up and shook his hand, the rest of the guys saluted him with nod and a smile.

 

 

His sister, the rebel and non shit taker who hated rich people like their father had been matched with a guy that seemed to hang around rich guys for all for all he could see. Thoros, Tom had the typical rocker vibe, and Lem wore a neon yellow shirt and the other folks were apparently rich people. He recognized Jon from a workshop class he had a while ago in uni, he was the guy who always dressed in black and kept mostly to himself. His brother was a lean guy with a dark red hair colour and that Theon guy was a skinny blond with a mischievous look.

 

 

Time passed and he was dreading every minute of it, it wasn’t that most of the guys were wealthy or assholes, they were pretty nice and they were talking and drinking while chatting. It wasn’t the fact that Jon, Robb and had soulmates called Ygritte and Jeyne whom made an appearance later that night. It wasn’t the fact that Beric was the one who talked to him the most, as if he was analysing him. Something was keeping him on edge, probably the fact that at any moment they were going to ask him about his non-existent soulmate. Why did people who find their soulmates look so happy? He always wondered that.

 

 

“Hey, look Sansa is here with The Hound” the blond guy said and Jon and Robb turned their heads to look someplace, he felt curious so he looked as well. “Think The Hound will start a fight if anyone looks at Sansa?” Robb said with a laugh

 

 

“Think Arya is coming too?” – Jon asked. He felt so out of place, he didn’t know anyone. “Sansa, the redhead over there, is our younger sister and that scary guy with her is her soulmate. Arya is our little sister” – Jon explained to him while pointing to the redhead. He probably saw his lost look and felt sorry for him and tried to make him more included. Well, they were kind of okey guys for all he could tell so far, tryingto make him feel included and all because he was probably going to see them more often now that his sister was matched with one of the guys they apparently hanged around

 

He turned to look where Jon was pointing and saw a tall redhead girl with an incredibly tall guy who glared anyone that came near them. The guy, or The Hound, as they kept calling him was a scary folk with a burnt scar on his face; one could tell had been good looking before that scar marked his face. He wondered if he was scarred before his matching with that Sansa girl or if she fell in love with him even if he was marked already. Could that soulmate bond be that strong?

 

 

“Gendry, you ok?” his sister asked him.

 

 

“Yeah, why?” He was feeling somewhat nervous since he got here. The nerves of meeting new people were probably getting to him, he felt a bit out of place. He shrugged off her sister’s questions by telling her he was just a bit tired, he didn’t want any attention on him. Gendry continued talking with the guys and saw how most of the time the matched people got lost in their own little worlds. Beric didn’t seem to care about it neither did that Theon guy who kept talking to him and making dirty jokes.

 

 

Beers kept flowing and he found out about the other people. Jon, Robb and Theon were his age 24. They were also finishing school this year, Jon went to the same college he did and Robb went to a private one on the other side of town, north way. Jon’s girl was a redhead who kept challenging him to drinking games while Robb’s one was a quieter type of girl. Theon was a prankster and eventually that Sansa girl, she was 21, joined them with her soulmate who kept looking at them as if he hated them.

 

 

They all seemed like a solid group, everyone had a place and purpose. His own sister now had a place among them and he felt like he didn’t. He was a more of a loner, as usual. When that weird feeling that kept bugging him got too much he excused himself and went to the bathroom. He needed a breather, there he did his business washed his hands and splashed water on his face and hair, making it more of a thick mess than it usually is. He needed to get a grip on himself, what was wrong with him that night?

 

He usually could chat with Beric and his friends when he ran into them at the bar neart the shop.

 

As he seemed to feel better he went back, he felt even more on an edge. What was wrong with him? He had never felt so nervous in his life. Had he developed social anxiety tonight? He started feeling a form of tightness in his chest, like if the air was pressing on him. He probably needed another beer to get his shit straight.

 

 

He was walking back when he saw someone else had joined their table. It was a small girl, he could tell. She was standing, facing her back to him. Great, probably another soulmate of one of the guys or a girl with her own had joined them.

 

His heart started to beat harder all of a sudden, what was happening to him? It was as if the air in this place was light and wasn’t getting into his lungs.

 

 

He saw Mya pointing at him and the mystery  girl turned around as in command, their eyes locked.

 

He saw grey eyes, deep grey who were looking at him with a surprised look. His heart was beating its way out of his chest and the world was spinning and disappearing. For a moment all sound died, everything turned black except for those grey eyes. He needed to get closer and get out of that darkness that was surrounding him.

 

 

His legs didn’t want to obey him, he tried harder until they started functioning. The world was coming back at full force, he could see the bar and the people on their table who were still talking all happily. The new girl was still looking at him; he was getting closer walking as fast as he could when she ran away. She just ran…

 

 

“Arya, where are you going?” he heard someone yell. Who? He wasn’t sure.

 

 

“Gendry, are you ok? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost!” his sister was talking to him, he couldn’t answer. He forgot how to speak. Mya was getting closer to him, walking him towards the table. Had he stopped walking? When? When the girl ran away?

 

 

He sat down, the world was still spinning madly and his heart was still beating out of his chest. Everyone was looking at him. He felt hot, the place was too hot and bright and the sound was now too loud. Where had the girl ran away?

 

“Here, take this” someone handed him a glass of something, he drank it one gulp and it seemed to be  cold beer.

 

 

“Dude, breathe. You ok?’” he looked up, Robb was talking to him. He looked at everyone. He looked at each person, one at a time and when he saw his sister he knew. It was clear to him now.

 

 

“I found her” – was all he could say.


	2. Chapter 2

He hated it. He was matched and there was nothing he could do about it. Almost everything that happened after he saw that girl was a blur. It was as if he had blacked out but he didn’t, he remembered her, her eyes and that tight feeling in his chest and nothing more. Mya, his sister, took him home after he went into an almost catatonic state and the next thing he can remember is waking up the next morning.

 

 

What was worst being that people he barely knew saw him lost it, he actually freaking lost it. He wasn’t ready to be matched, he wasn’t ready to find his soulmate and he wasn’t ready for her to run away at the sight of seeing him. Was he that horrible of a match? Who was that girl anyways? She was an acquaintance of the people he hanged around that day, but they never mentioned her name.

 

He was beyond shocked last night, he was scared.

 

He had never felt so scared in his life, that feeling inside of him was like a punch in the stomach and it all exploded when they locked eyes. He could swear he felt as if the feeling came from outside of his body, took every cell in him and shut him down. He couldn’t help but wonder if she also felt scared.

 

His sister kept calling him to check on him. The first few days he went into Thoreau mode and disappeared from civilization, then he immersed himself in work and college. The only places one could find him where the car shop at Mott’s, behind the car shop where he practiced a hobby of his and his flat. No more bars nor hanging out with friends and online grocery shopping was his new favourite thing.

 

He couldn’t risk facing those greys eyes again, he wasn’t ready.

 

 

Now he was walking as fast as he could towards his bike, he didn’t want to talk to anyone. Just go home and avoid the rain that was sure to come if the grey clouds above him were any indication.

 

He noticed something when he reached the parking lot. His surprise was that someone was waiting for him. Jon was leaning on his bike with arms crossed, dressed in black as always. He slowed his pace as he arrived to where he had parked his bike.

 

 

“Nice ride, mate” – Jon was analysing his bike. What did he want?

 

 

“amm, thanks” – this was awkward, what was that guy doing here? Was he going to make fun of him. Crap, he hated the world.

 

 

“So heard you have a way of fixing cars” – the guy was looking at him; it was as if he was being tested. He felt analysed, judged as if he was tested on something he didn’t know and it bothered him.

 

 

“Yeah” – he had no patience for it.

 

 

“Can you fix an old car? A first generation Camaro?” –

 

 

“They’re the same principle, aren’t they?” – he was shifting uncomfortable on his spot, he just wanted to go home “It’s a classic car, can be fixed”.

 

 

“I used to have a Suzuki Hayabusa, got into an accident a while back and got this” – the guy pointed to a scar he had on his face – “Haven’t rode it much ever since” – So the guy was feeling like telling him his life story or what??

 

 

“So… you want anything? – go to the point fast, Snow.

 

 

“Boring you much, huh? Yeah, I want to get a certain car fixed and heard you were the best mechanic in town” – so he wanted a favour? He took notice of Jon’s inquisitive look, how the guy was taking in every movement he made.

 

 

“Well, you can take it to the shop” – he walked towards his bike while putting his helmet on, sick of being tested as if he was a freak.

 

 

“See, this is a special quest. This ride has a special meaning, you see. Mya said you can help me and double charge me without guilt. I think actually I’d be cheaper to buy a whole new car, but it has to be this one” – Jon looked at him. He was going to say no, but it’d bring trouble to his sister. Gendry hated doing favours to people.

 

 

“I’ll be all day by the shop tomorrow, you can take it there. You know where it is, don’t you?” – he hoped on, the guy was looking at him, there was something about this conversation that made him vulnerable. – “Yeah, I’ll take it there in the morning. See you tomorrow” – it felt as if he was the one being dismissed. He hoped on his bike, turned the engine on and got out of that place.

 

 

Next day, when he arrived to the shop for work Jon was already there waiting for him. Well, that made Gendry hate him a little less, he disliked unpunctuality.

 

 

“Needed to have it pullover all the way here, Mott said it was okay to keep it inside the shop. That’s fine, right?” – the guy was looking way friendlier than yesterday as if he wasn’t over analysing him anymore. It made him feel more at ease, but there was still something about this guy.

 

 

“Yeah, it’s fine. Let’s check it out” – he walked to the back of the shop where the new car was. It was a 69 Camaro, in the worst conditions possible. Gods, those cars were to be kept as a collection, to be taken care of and this was destroyed. The paint, carcass, interior, everything was ruined. He checked the engine and other stuff, the engine could’ve been worst bur there was a lot of damage. What had this car been through?

 

 

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” – Jon asked with a defeated tone.

 

 

“Indeed” – it was all he could say.

 

 

“It really doesn’t matter how much it costs, as long as you can fix it. We’ll search to the end of the world for the pieces you’ll need. But it has to be this car” – the guy was a foot away from begging.

 

 

“It’ll take time; it’s going to cost you. Not because of me, but because of what you’re going to need. The engine is busted; it’ll need whole new parts in good condition. Change of interior, painting. It’ll be like making a new car. You’ll even need to change parts of the carcass. Really mate, are you sure you don’t want a new car?” – he was being honest, this was going to cost a fortune.

 

 

“Yes, I’m sure. But, time is something we don’t really have much of” – he seems disappointed.

 

“Due date?” – if he really wanted this car he could make it work, but he had to be realistic this was not going to be easy. It could be fun working on this type of cars, they were classics.

 

 

“We only have about 4 weeks” – the guy sighted. A month was too little time if some pieces were hard to find or needed to be order from far away.

 

 

“Please, tell me you can do it. We’ll pay, we’ll look for the parts and all. But please, help us” – Jon looked him in the eye, there was something about the tone of his request. This car must be really especial, but…

 

 

“We?” – Gendry was curious all this time Jon had been talking in plural it was kind of weird, he laughed at his question.

 

 

“Yes, we. It’s kind of a family request this, you see. This car is very especial to us, my sister looked for it specially for months. When she found it she was so sad to see it in this conditions” –   Gendry sighted, he would feel bad if he refused a work like this. It was going to be time consuming as hell.

 

 

“I’ll do it. I can fix it” – Yes, this was going to be his personal project, he really wanted to work on something so heavy as this, to set his mind in it to distract him from everything. It was a good project to get lost in.

 

 

“Thanks mate, you have no idea what this means” – the guy extended his hand for a handshake type of hug. He had never been fold of physical interaction but it’d be rude if he rejected it. Then he started making a list of parts he was going to need that he might not get a hold of that easily, he could order a few but I’d take time.

 

 

In the end they exchanged numbers and started talking about school and stuff while also talking about the car. Gendry also checked if he was going to need something else. Jon left short after and next day he came back with a check for the first payment, the one destined for parts. Jon tried to make small talk looking all uncomfortable.

 

 

“So, I’m sorry to ask or bring the topic but you seem to be okay by now. I’m glad you look better. I mean, what happened the other night at the bar” – crap, the guy mentioned it up. He could feel the blush rising in his neck.

 

 

“yeah, don’t know know what happened that night” –

 

 

“You know what happened. To some it’s quite a shocker finding your soulmate. You got scared some have it worst, believe me” – the guy laughed and blushed a bit, he could only wonder what kind of memory could make a guy like Jon blush.

 

 

“Can it even get worst?” – he scoffed, he didn’t want to talk about the topic. Somehow he felt like wouldn’t be able to dodge it this time.

 

 

“Yeah, I passed out when I met Ygritte” Jon laughed “She still doesn’t let me live it down. My sister Sansa got a meltdown when she saw she was matched with a guy that didn’t look anything like prince charming. Another person really close to my heart panicked and ran away in front of her soulmate” the guy chuckled “And you really don’t want to know what my friend Sam did. Yours was really a nice reaction” Jon said it with such an ease that made Gendry feel as if he wasn’t been mocked. This was just the guy talking to him.

 

 

“Well, then I guess I got lucky, didn’t I?” he sighted and the guy laughed, as if he had found something amusing but he was not laughing at him, Gendry could tell.

 

 

“Don’t know about that, but I do know that your soulmate is going to be quite handy” holy shit, what had Jon said?!

 

 

“You… you know? Who? I…” He was lost at words, his mouth gaping like a fish, probably. Jon chuckled.

 

 

“Don’t take it personally, she tends to run away when things get too much to handle. That’s just her, you’ll get used to it.” how could the guy possibly know who he had been matched to? There were a lot of people on that bar

 

 

“how do you know who my soulmate is?!”  shit, no no no. He had avoided the topic until now for the guy to bring it up now. He didn’t want to know yet he really did want to know.

 

 

“Gendry, your soulmate is my sister Arya” what in seven hells?

 

 

“How can you be so sure I matched with your sister?! he was starting to feel certain panic. How could Jon be so sure? Why was he meddling and if it was true, was he trying to meddle?

 

 

“well, it’s not that quite hard to point out. You were pretty out of it, you kept saying stuff while Mya and I took you home on a taxi. And then I talked to Arya, heard what she was saying while in shock. Put two and two together and that was it” Jon shrugged as he finished telling him how he figured it out, as if he was telling him what time it was.

 

Hells, he didn’t even remember talking after he sat down on the stool after she fleed the place. What did he even say? This was too much for him, he needed to sit down. He looked at Jon, he was just there with his arms crossed and an amused expression watching him panic.

 

 

“You took me home?” he, unfortunately, didn’t remember any of it. His world was shocked that night, you couldn’t blame him.

 

 

“Yes, look It’s alright you don’t remember. You don’t need to get embarrassed or anything but you were thinking out loud, I guess. You described what you saw I suppose and ‘grey eyes, dark hair, short girl’ is a quite accurate description of my sister to be honest” – dear gods, he wanted the earth to swallow him. Why couldn’t he be a loner?

 

“There are a lot of girls like that” he tried to defend himself.

 

 

Jon scoffed, the guy was so relaxed now. Was Jon happy his sister was matched to a guy like him? “Could be, but when I found her she was talking about a big guy that looks like a bull, blue eyes, dark hair and… other certain other things…” the guy was using and amused tone and what other things? She said he looked like a bull? Really? That was great…

 

 

Really, his life was hell now. In the time lapse of a few days it had gone from simple to a freaking living hell. HE ran a hand through his hair, he hated been matched.

 

 

“So, the reason I brought the topic is because, well…” Jon started talking again, shifting uncomfortable on his feet.

 

 

“She hates me, doesn’t she?” – he wanted to be crushed under the cars he was supposed to be fixing.

 

“no! no! Just that I suppose you’ll meet eventually. I thought I should give you the heads up about that. She doesn’t know you’re the one working on the car, though… but this car is special for her, you see” – Jon was moving his hands while talking, as trying to diminish his nervousness “guess, it’s a nice way of meeting officially through this project. She was so sad when she found dad’s car in these conditions, and now you’re the only one who can really change that… I’m assuming she’ll be here at any time to see how things are going with the car and I don’t want you be so shocked when it happens, I guess”.

 

 

“Have you told her you know me?” – he said while looking down, he hated this whole soulmate thing.

 

 

“No, I haven’t. See, I have to go now” – Jon looked at his watch – “I have class and I have to drive back to uni. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, mate. I found a place where they sell car parts, I’ll see if they have anything tomorrow. We can talk more about it tomorrow and I’ll tell you more about her or don’t know, it’s kind of weird, isn’t it?” – the guy shifted on his spot again before turning around to leave.

 

 

Well, Gendry cursed under his breath. He didn’t want to be matched and now it was inevitable that they would meet again. He just wanted to forget this whole deal so he went back into the shop to work and occupied his mind. Stupid soulmate thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not very much of Arya, but a lot of Jon and Gendry bonding, I guess.
> 
> See you next chap.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3!! 
> 
> Hope you like this and comment if you do.  
> I will accept suggestions and advice for this story so feel free to leave your impressions!

He was running late to work, nor that it matters because Mott never actually cared if he was a few minutes or about an hour late.

 

He was actually proud of his punctuality, but today he slept in because he had just finished his midterm exams week and he’d been exhausted to say the least. He spent most of his time fixing the Camaro and studying and he didn’t let anyone of the guys at the shop work on the car, it was his personal project. So now, he was tired as hell. He had been so busy that he couldn’t even go to the back of the shop and work on his art, leaving certain things to be done but since it was just a hobby it could be done later.

 

 

And to top it all, yesterday he got drunk, Mya and his friend HotPie dropped by and decided to get him drunk because it had been too long since they hanged out. Now he was hangover and late for work it was going to be a dreadful Monday, thank the gods he didn’t have class that day.

 

 

He had been working on the car for the last two weeks. Jon dropped occasionally and stayed around to talk and hang out and occasionally they bumped on campus and ended up hanging around each other there too. The guy was a nice lad, he liked him. He even considered him a kind of friend now, he spent talking about life most of the time, they had a few things in common like the bastard factor. Also, Jon never brought the soulmate topic again which showed he was a considerate person.

 

Now was walking as fast as he could when he got to the shop, he could hear the rest of the crew working and the radio on. He was just entering the when he started feeling a tug in his chest for a second before he bumped into someone.

 

 

“watch it, you giant!”

 

 

His felt his heart explode and every ounce of air left his lungs in a second. He looked down and saw _her_ , he had just bumped into his soulmate. She was now on the floor, where she ended after crashing into his bigger form and he was looking at her and couldn’t move a muscle. He hated how scared he felt every time he was near her, it was horrible. He recovered lightly and extended his hand to help her stand up.

 

 

“I… I’m sorry, uhm are you okay?”  she looked up at him, her eyes opened surprised before anger crossed through them, she glared at him for a moment before standing up without his help. He could feel every inch of his body tense up. It was as if sudden wave of anger, fear and excitement had entered his body from the outside as if he could feel it besides his feelings of fear and nervousness, almost as if he wasn’t feeling it himself. It was too weird to explain.

 

 

“Stop staring, you creep!” he cursed mentally, he didn’t realize he was staring. Well he did realize but he couldn’t help it because in front of him was the most beautiful girl he had laid his eyes on. She was extremely tiny and skinny; she didn’t even reach his collarbones but he was taller than most people which was unfair. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt, skinny jeans and snickers. Her hair was dark brown and looked as if she had cut it herself, it was angled shorter on the back and the front barely reached her neck.

 

What shocked him more were her eyes were big and grey, they were even clearer on daylight. He was stunned because they were hard, fierce and beautiful. The color reminded him of melted silver.

 

 

He could feel anger coming from her, aimed at him “I’m sorry” he apologized again, his soulmate hated him.

 

 

He felt the air charged, she was there looking at him with fury and he was just there standing feeling scared. What was he supposed to say? Something like “Hey, my name is Gendry and I’m your soulmate!”. There should be a manual for this kind of instances. He couldn’t take, he was probably a coward but he wanted to excuse himself and leave. He was making his way round and about to start walking when she spoke.

 

 

“Do you know who is working on the Camaro?” – she asked him all of a sudden

 

 

“what?” he felt like an idiot for asking, but he couldn’t help it because his brain was a bit slow at the moment. Shock and fear can make one’s brain go a bit slow.

 

 

“You work here, right?

 

 

“How would you know?” he was keeping his guard up in the most stupid way possible.

 

 

“You’re wearing a uniform, dumbass. Do you know who is working on the Camaro?” he was feeling even more dumb by the second.

 

 

“No” he said it too quickly, suspiciously quickly. She glared at him before rolling her eyes as if defeated. He could swear that for a second he felt a wave of annoyance cross through his skin, as if he was feeling it from outside of his body. It was such a weird feeling.

 

 

“Well, tell whoever is working on it to not fuck it up” she turned on her heels and left. Now he understood Jon’s words from the other day, Arya was quite something. The authority on her voice stirred something in him.

 

 

His soulmate was hot as hell.

 

 

After she left he got to work, he discovered she had left some of the parts that were needed to finish the car, the ones Jon told him he had gotten a hold of. He worked until he could no more and left home for the night.

 

 

He had worked his ass off for two weeks to finish the car as fast as he could. Between that and midterms he was tired but he wanted to finish fast and he had to do much more today to compensate what he didn’t do yesterday because he was too busy getting drunk with his sister and HotPie.

 

If everything went the car could be done before the due date as Jon and his siblings had magically gotten almost every part in such impressive speed. This car was really important to them; Jon had mentioned it had something to do with their father but didn’t explained much about it.

 

If he kept it up maybe by the end of the next week he could be painting the car and doing the last retouches, taking it out for a ride as a test and see if things were going smoothly. The schedule of parts to arrive had been going smoothly, he had sent the carcass parts to be made with a co-worker that specialized on those things and was always on time. He was tuning things under the car and things couldn’t be smoother, as If the car wanted to be up and running again.

 

 

“You are a terrible liar”

 

 

“ouch! Fucking seven hells!” He jumped when he heard _that_ voice. As he tried to get up, like a reflex motion from the scare jump, he ended up hitting his head with the underneath of the car. He rolled out from under the car and put his hand on his forehead, he would probably spot a bump there later.

 

 

He was still cursing when he heard the most beautiful sound on earth, Arya’s laugh. If his forehead didn’t hurt as much as it did now he would probably be angry that she was laughing at him, but he was just awed. She was standing a few feet away from him laughing. He didn’t hear her come back at all after she had left a couple minutes ago after she insulted him.

Her laugh was… something out of this world. He could feel some sort of warmth in his chest from it, but pushed it away because she was mocking him.

 

 

“you shouldn’t do that!” he yelled, he was probably blushing now and he still had his hands on his forehead because it hurt like hells. She looked so cute while laughing.

 

 

“What? Laugh?” she shouldn’t do that either. Gods, her voice was so pretty, it was a little bit husky and all sexy.

 

 

“You shouldn’t do that either, you are not supposed to scare people when they are under a freaking car! It’s common sense!” embarrassment washed over him yet he also felt amused, he tried not to chuckle at the stupidity of this whole ordeal.

 

“Gods, you’re such a drama queen” she rolled her eyes yet her voice had an amused tone in it. He stood up and finally got his hands away from his head, he was feeling a little bit light headed but he wasn’t sure if it was because of the bump or because of her.

 

 

“So, umm, what brings you here?” he opened the hood and went back to work, trying to get his mind of her being there, but he kept glancing at her from time to time, he just couldn’t help it.

 

 

“Wanted to see who is working on the car. I was afraid it was going to be you, the idiot who bumps into people but seems it can’t be helped” what? So she scared the crap out of him and insults him? Who does she think she is?!

 

 

“You shouldn’t insult people that are bigger than you” he groaned, she was just getting on his nerves, coming here all of a sudden and insulting him and scaring him. He glared at her, he was hating her now. He hated the effect she had on him.

 

 

“Then I wouldn’t get to insult anyone!” she said all calmly, shrugging off his answer “Is it going to be ready for in time?” she asked all of a sudden. Right, he knew that it was supposed to be ready in two weeks.

 

 

“Yes” he answered her.

 

 

“Good, guess you’re not as dumb as you seem” she snorted again, she was mocking him now. Gods, he wanted to hate her so much, why did she have to be his soulmate? “Well, see you around. You really better not fuck this up” she turned to leave, at last, but her leaving didn’t make him happy. Gods, he was such a contradiction. He was terrified of her being there, of her presence and how she treated him and yet he didn’t want her to leave.

 

 

“wait!” he blurted. Crap he could not believe he stopped her. She turned around to face him waiting for whatever he had called her for.

 

 

“The color! I’m painting it soon but your brother didn’t tell me what colour it’s supposed to be” yes, his mind worked something quickly enough now.

 

 

“Grey, that car used to be grey” right, the car would look good in that colour, not the puke green it was now. He imagined it a silvery type of grey, like her eyes and it was the perfect color for a car like this.  

 

She turned around and left and he felt lonely.

 

But all he kept thinking was that he should be very careful on mixing the color to obtain the perfect shade of grey, it was quickly becoming his favorite color.


	4. Chapter 4

“Favourite Beatle?”

 

 

“What? Ringo Star. Yours?”

 

 

“Seriously? Ringo? Not Paul nor John? “ 

 

 

“Yes, Ringo is my favorite”

 

 

“Favourite Beatle song?”

 

 

He sighed “Helter Skelter but I also really like Octopus Garden. Yours?”

 

 

“So, are you like a creepy family groupie?” –

 

 

“What? No! Manson ruined the white album for the rest of us. The crazy fucker had cool songs, though but he was a son of a bitch. What’s your favorite Beatle song??”.

 

“Favorite food?”

 

“Stew”

 

“Stew? You know there are like a hundred types of stew, don’t you?”

 

“Yes, but I like stew! Any kind! It’s warm, comfy and it’s always good and goes good with everything! Even when it’s bad it’s still good. What do you like?”

 

 

He really couldn’t understand what was going on, when he arrived to the shop today Arya was already there, sitting on top of his working table in the back with her legs crossed reading a magazine she’d found lying around.  He working on the car while being. It started with simple dumb questions as his favourite fruit (pears), favourite Friends character (Chandler) and so on. He would always asked her back, but never got an answer.

 

 

Well, he supposed this odd behaviour of hers had something to do with getting to know the person who is supposed to be her soulmate and see if they have something in common, but he was getting no answer whatsoever! It was frustrating! He wanted to get to know her! She just kept ignoring his questions and asking him more! And she never mentioned her being his soulmate or that subject at all. Now he was answering her cop interrogation.

 

 

“Favourite movie?”

 

 

The Shawshank Redemption. Yours?”

 

 

“That’s everyone’s with a brain favourite movie! pick another” she deadpanned while rolling her eyes.

 

 

“But that’s the best movie of all time!” he liked this situation, he had to be honest with himself about it. She wanted to get to know him better, even if she dodged his questions and mocked his answers. It was nice, comforting even, to see Arya wanting to get to know him, it gave him hope of some sorts.

 

 

“And that makes it ineligible to be your favourite movie, it’s fact that it’s everyone’s favourite movie. Pick another!”

 

 

“Are you going to answer any of my questions, ever?”  even if he liked the fact that she was talking to him, he wanted to get to know what she enjoyed! He was just, well, he was still nervous around her, his heart was beating as if he had run a marathon and he had goose bumps all over his body and everytime she was close he had this feeling in his chest like a soft pressure.

 

 

“nope, favourite movie?” She kept insisting. He thought about it, he could really go, lie and try to play cool guy but it wouldn’t work. She was like a walking lie detector (he had tried before and she caught it immediately).

 

 

He sighed “A tie between Oldboy, the original not the bad remake and Battle Royale” – he answered. She looked at him thoughtfully and placed a finger under her chin and tabbed it there a few times.

 

 

“Tarantino’s favourite, interesting choice and Oldboy is another interesting choice. So your favourite movies are about revenge and killing sprees, you’re a Manson groupie and Ringo fan. May I say we have a future Jack The Ripper in here?” she used an amused tone, she was teasing him. Did she want to torture him?

 

 

He shrugged “I enjoy revenge movies, and I also like to watch the Princess Bride” she laughed at that and he felt happy, he enjoyed making her laugh. He couldn’t really understand what was going on here, she kept asking him question after question until he got up and took a break.

 

 

“It’ll be ready to be picked up on next Thursday, if you feel like picking it up earlier” He said as soon as he finished.

 

 

“No, we don’t have a place to keep it before it’s due, would ruin the surprise” he was curious who was that car for. He’d heard it was for their father but not much really, he could be wrong yet every Stark was very keen on it. But, he didn’t want to ask, he didn’t want to be seen as nosy on their family business.

 

Most importantly, he didn’t want to ruin whatever this was, she was talking to him at least and Jon was his friend, he didn’t want to ruin anything.

 

“You can ask, you know? I know you want to” she said while circling the car, observing it. He was leaning against a wall.

 

 

“It’s none of my business. I’m just the repairing guy” he really didn’t want to pry on it. He better be cautious.

 

 

“You’re so stupid” she giggled, but it had no mock in it as if she had just found him to be truly funny “It’s a birthday present for my father, this used to be the first car he bought with his own money which he had to sell later because of some financial troubles he faced after my granfdather’s death. He never stops talking about this car, so we tracked it down for him. Now, it’s getting late, should be getting back home. See you” and she left. She usually did that, just left without waiting for him to say goodbye even.

 

 

Next day when he got out of classes he was incredibly surprised to find her in the same spot he had found Jon waiting for him a few weeks ago. She was leaning against his bike; the difference was that since she was so tiny it made the bike look even bigger. She had her arms crossed as if she was thinking while looking at some random point in the ground; he was still a few feet away when she looked up and their eyes locked.

 

 

He wasn’t ready for it, each time their eyes met he had the exact same feeling he had when they locked eyes that night at the club. The world would get dark and into slow motion for a split moment before coming back louder and brighter than it used to be. It shocked him to the core every single time.

 

 

“Nice ride” she said when he got close enough, he just stopped and looked at her just as a tingly, almost nervous feeling passed over his skin for a second. He noticed that she looked a lot like Jon, their pale skin and dark hair were a family trait just like him and Mya shared their dark hair and blue eyes.

 

The difference was that Arya had straight hair that only curved slightly at the ends whereas her brother had curly black hair he kept long. The biggest difference he noticed at the moment was that the other day Jon looked like a creeper waiting for someone to beat up while Arya looked incredibly sexy leaning on his bike while wearing an oversized blue hoodie and skinny jeans, the wind messing her hair, making It fly.

 

 

“Thanks. What are you doing here?” he was incredibly nervous, shifting back and forth while holding his backpack on one hand and his helmet on the other.  

 

 

“Waiting for you” what? Gendry could swear he almost dropped his stuff in surprise at that answer. That was a shocker, why would she be waiting for him?

 

 

“Uhmm, what? Why?” he advanced a step forward.

 

 

“Because I need a ride” she uncrossed her arms and leaned on them on his bike. She was looking at him directly in the eyes. A defiant look in her eyes, a command.

 

 

“A ride?”

 

 

“Yes” she declared, her voice firm.

 

 

“Why?

 

 

“Shouldn’t you be asking ‘where’ instead of ‘why’?

 

 

“are you ever going to answer one of my questions?”

 

 

“Are you going to give me a ride or not?” she scoffed a bit when she spoke. And that’s when he noticed he had been getting closer each time, he was just a few inches away from her. When had he walked that close? He was like a moth to the flame. She was like a magnet and him a metal. There was a pull, a force he couldn’t explain and his body just acted.

 

 

“Where do you want to go?”  he still had to finish the car, but spending time with her and trying to get to know her. There was no way in hell he would pass on that opportunity.

 

 

“I guess we are going to the same place” he was looking at her mouth when she spoke, it just caught his attention.

 

 

“The car shop?” he was entranced looking at her lips, he was leaning forward to her. They were standing so close. There was a force pulling him in, a warmth in his chest yet that pressure he always felt whenever she was close.

 

 

“yep” – the emphasis she did on the “p” made her lips even more attractive, a pout he couldn’t take his eyes off.

 

 

“You’ll have to wear my helmet, m’lady” he didn’t have an extra one, he was willing to sacrifice his own safety for her. He was leaning in, even closer and closer

 

 

“Do not call me m’lady” she pouted, it was just so… attractive. He couldn’t get his eyes of her lips.

 

 

“As my lady commands” he wanted to tease her more, watch her pout again. He was so entranced watching her mouth that he didn’t see her shift in her place and then she shoved him.

 

“that was unlady like” he teased her more, he liked her reaction. But he didn’t actually expect to be shoved with enough force that he ended up on the ground and she also had used something to push him because it hit chest.

 

 

“Fuck off, just give me a ride” she was angry now, he felt it clearly, a wave of anger passed through him and it was coming from her. It lasted about a second, but he was sure about it, he felt it.

 

He got up and noticed that the thing she used to push him was a motorbike helmet. Where did she got one? When he got up from the ground she was still there, looking all angry and cute with a helmet on her hands.

 

 

“Where did that fucking thing come from?!”

 

 

“It’s Jon’s old helmet” she shrugged

 

 

“How did you know I ride a bike? You never asked me” she shrugged her shoulders again.

 

 

“I asked to one of the guys at the shop who owned the bike parked outside” that made a lot of sense.

 

 

“And why do you want me to give you a ride?” How did she know where to find him?

 

 

“my stupid brother ditched me here because his soulmate called him” Jon’s plan? That guy was just… something. Now the moment they had shared seconds ago was lost, she was still pissed and looking cute, but he knew better to get that close as before. Even if the pull was still there . “oh” was all he could answer.

 

 

“So are you going to give me a fucking ride or not?” she was glaring at him.

 

 

“Yes, hop on. You carry my bag, that’ll be your fair for the ride” he teased her, she punched him and he felt a shock of electricity coming from the place she had touched. This was going to be the hardest ride of his life, he just hoped not to kill them both.

 

 

When she hoped on they were so close, she snaked her arms around his torso and it all was almost too much for him. It felt as if bolts of electricity passed through him every time they touched, his heart was beating faster and he felt hot.

 

 

Half way there everything got even worst because she pressed herself harder against him when he speeded up a little bit. He prayed to every god, old and new, to not crash because he was nervous and more…

 

 

They lived enough to arrive safe to the car shop, she hoped off his bike almost immediately while he took his time to breathe, without looking desperate, just a curios long time to get his helmet off.

 

 

“That was quite a ride, huh” she said gleefuly and went inside, after taking a deep breath he followed her but first he went to the lockers to get his stuff, changed clothing and went to back where he found her sitting in on his work table like yesterday. It was a sight he could get used to.

 

 

“Why do you have burn marks on your hands?” he was surprised at her question, he walked towards the car, he still needed to adjust certain things and last details. He didn’t think she had noticed anything about him, to be honest.

 

 

“You never answer any of my questions, I won’t answer any more of yours until you do” he stood his ground!

 

 

“Fineeee” she rolled her eyes “I’ll answer your stupid questions but burn marks first” she was so stubborn; he could tell now. That made her all the more interesting.

 

 

“I got them when I started learning metalworking, hobby of mine. At first you never know when things are too hot or things slip and one is dumb enough to not wear gloves at all time” Mott taught him that and to fix cars when he was a kid. He liked working with metal even more than working with cars

 

 

“Metalworking? What you do?” she was looking at him with curiosity and interest, he felt proud.

 

 

“What I feel like doing, jewellery, figures sometimes bigger stuff like sculptures, custom knives or I don’t know, whatever I feel like”  

 

 

“That’s really cool” his chest inflated with pride, he was smiling and as he didn’t want her to see his silly goofy grin he went under the hood.

 

 

“How old are you?”  he finally asked her one question.

 

 

“18” he choked, she was barely legal. He knew she was young but he didn’t imagine her to be that young.

 

“Where do you study?” did she still go to high school? Please let her not be a high schooler. Although if he thought about it, today they met around 11am and it was a school day. Yesterday she was here around 9, again on a school day. That meant she was not in high school, did she go to university also?

 

 

“I finished high school in Braavos, got into a special program there, and I’m starting university here next semester.”  Braavos? That was across the narrow sea. Did she live there?

 

“What’s your name?” she asked him. That caught him off guard, did she not know his name? Well, he  ever told her… but she took a ride from a complete stranger…?

 

 

Right, they were complete strangers to each other… even if they were matched. He still wasn’t sure she knew that he knew that she knew they were soulmates.

 

 

“Gendry”  he answered.

 

 

“I already know that, idiot. Your full name is what I’m asking” oh, she did know his name then…

 

 

“Gendry Waters”

 

 

“Then why does your name tag says Gendry B.?” oh right, Mott made their uniforms with names on them so customers would always know who’s working on what car.

 

 

“It stands for my father’s last name, but I don’t use it and I go by my other last name, my mom’s. I’ve wanted to change it to only my mom’s name but she didn’t let me before and then I guess never did” he answered her honestly.

 

 

“So “Gendry Waters’ is like your real name because it’s what you say when you introduce yourself even if it’s not like the real legal name...? Your legal name would be?” guess he just had to say it.

 

 

“Baratheon” she gasped and he felt embarrassed, he was a bastard after all.

 

 

“No way! That means your dad is…” she was curious. Well, not every day you meet a Robert Baratheon’s bastard.

 

 

“Robert Baratheon”

 

 

“Oh… he’s a friend of my father, you know? I know him” that was a shocker.

 

 

“Then that makes one of us. I’m not even sure if he knows I exist or just some of his assistants keeps tracks of his bastards” he spat the last word. Would she think different of him because of his origin? He wouldn’t be surprised because people usually did.

 

 

“You shouldn’t be ashamed, you know?” he stopped working “Jon, you know him, he also feels ashamed of not being a legitimate child but it’s just stupid. It’s not his fault my aunt fell in love with a married man before his divorce was finalized as it’s not your fault your dad is just an irresponsible womanizer drunk” Gendry laughed because of how she referred to his father, his chest felt warm and his heart was beating hard. Nobody had ever told him it was not his fault, only his mom.

 

 

“I’ve met his brothers, when I was little. A few more times I’ve seen them after my mom passed away, they showed up to talk some things. Stannis came to my mum’s funeral” he told her to try to divert the topic

 

 

“Stannis and Renly, together? That must’ve been quite a scene. Renly, looks a lot like you now that I think about it” she laughed “I hope you don’t have anything more in common with him other tan looks”.

 

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he was lost and she found something amusing in what she had just said

 

 

 “One day I’ll tell you, when you see it”.

 

 

He sighed “wait, you said Jon… I thought he was your brother”

 

 

“We’re actually cousins, my aunt died on childbirth and his father passed away in an accident before he was even born. My parents raised him with us” well, Jon mentioned being a bastard like him when he told him who his father was. “There are still rumors that he’s actually my dad’s child that he brought to live with him, but it’s not true yet that’s the reason my mom sometimes acts cold towards him”. She was looking a bit sad now.

 

 

“Favourite Beatle? Favourite song from them? Favourite movie? Favourite fruit? Favourite Friends character?” he asked her all of a sudden, it was enough of hard topics from now, she smiled a bit.

 

 

“Ringo Starr; Norwegian Wood; only lovers left alive; apples but I love lemony things such as lemon cakes; and Phoebe” – she answered almost all of the questions she’d made him yesterday. Now he was awestruck, she had really interesting tastes in music and movies and a few in common with him.

 

 

They spent talking most of the time, he even finished working on the car while at it. They just talked about anything and everything. She told him about her time in Braavos, why she lived there and all. He was surprised to know that she was a fencing champion, nationally ranked, and that she’d been training in Braavos.

 

He told her about his work, university and how much it bored the hell out of him but he had to do it. They both were surprised when they discovered both were friends with HotPie, the owner of the best pie shop in town and also had Lommy as a friend in common. They probably would’ve met sooner if they she hadn’t been across the sea.

 

 

It was nice talking to her, he felt almost at ease and there was this calming feeling around him, as if he was just having a good, chill time while getting to know Arya. She made him laugh a bit, he annoyed her and

 

 

When her phone rang she told him her sister had come to pick her up and she left, she still had the stupid habit of not waiting to say goodbye.

 

 

Gendry wondered if the fact that he felt at ease talking to her was due to just her, the soulmate bond shit or both. He just wanted to get to know her better,  get closer to her and also ravish her… he shook his head at that thought while going to the back and work on some metal piece he had in mind now. He needed a way to vent everything he was feeling and pounding some metal would do the trick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter.  
> Favo, follow and comment if you like!  
> Also, since i haven't finished this story and i'm editing, i accept suggestions, comments and opinions about it.
> 
> byeee


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there'll be spoilers at the end notes, so don't read them if you haven't seen season eight.

Never in his life had he fantasized about a woman, he never had had a type of girl before and as he always had thought to be a loner, soulmateless. He used to feel whole before and now there was something missing at all times. He felt a void, incomplete and every time that feeling was getting stronger ever since he met Arya.  

 

 

Now, Arya was a constant in his dreams, in every situation possible, mostly naughty dreams but still. She was always there. It was almost as if he ached for her to be near, even if her presence didn’t calm him because it made him anxious the few times they’d been together, the times she would come to the shop. She would just come, supervise his work and they would talk a bit, sometimes she brought food with her and other times she just sat there and watched him work without uttering a word. It was thrilling, stressful and maddening all at once.

 

The need for her was just too strong. And when he was not dreaming of her he was dreaming of wolves, it was odd but he felt as if there was more to it but he couldn’t understand what it was. Arya had mentioned something about owning a wolf dog, that could be what induced the dreams or not.

 

Now he was dreading getting out of bed, but he had to clear his head after this weekend.

 

 

This whole weekend had been hell.

 

On Friday, Arya didn’t show up to pick up the car, only Jon and his brothers came. He met Bran and Rickon, the latter thought that he was awesome for fixing the car. Robb tried to pay him even more, but in the end he even refused the last payment check. If the parts were already paid for there was no way in hell he would accept payment for his man hour work. Robb couldn’t understand his refusal, Jon did though. Little Rickon was clueless about everything apparently, but called him “Arya’s friend” which make him blush and feel warm in the chest. The other brother, Bran, looked at him with a certain look, those looks that imply they know something you don’t.

 

The Starks were a weird kind of family but he liked them. He asked about Arya and Robb joked about her breathing down his neck all the time and how he was free of the pressure now. It made him wonder if Robb knew that him and Arya had been matched. Jon said something about Arya being held up at their house, their mother wanting her to be at their father’s birthday party, he could bet she hated those lavish parties but kept it to himself.

 

He wanted to see her again, he should’ve asked for her number. He had spent the whole weekend regretting not asking Jon for her number.

 

Now, Monday. Today was Mott’s spirit day where the shop was closed so he had a day off, no classes and no work but he was still going over to the shop to do something, take the edge, anger, everything off and it was a nice type of day for it, it was a cold and grey morning, he could bet it would start to rain in a few hours and cold days were the best for what he had in mind. Hammering some metal would do the trick. Mott introduced him to the art of metal working, it was a good way to keep an angry teenage boy out of trouble, a way to make him patient and poor his teenage angst into something. And now it was a hobby, his place to vent It all.

 

 Fuck, did she really wanted to get to know him at all? Or was she just there, every day, checking how he built the car? Nothing more? He hated her, not that he could do it in reality but he wanted to hate her so bad yet he also liked her, she was a cool person to be around. Stray thoughts about her kept appearing on his head, making him feel anxious, nervous, angry, sad and more at the same time.

 

 

The feelings were so overwhelming that he just went to the back of the shop, put on the protection gear, since he was already in his working outfit, and started working. Metal heating, hammering and shaping. The way he worked was by instinct, starting something and then shape it and according to how it was coming out he would continue. Lately he had been working on smaller object, jewellery and that sort of stuff, but today it was more of a big sculpture kind of day so there he was, hammering away and shaping metal. Time passed and he put all his frustration on his work, apparently he was making a wolf head. Once he thought it to be adequate, he needed to weld certain parts to make the piece come together. It ended up being a type of statue of wire work and geometric form, in the shape of a wolf head.

 

 

Everything he ended up doing lately had been wolves, he couldn’t understand why everything had to do with wolves. He imagined grey wolves, grey fur and grey eyes on the snow and it showed on his work.

 

 

After putting it all in his work he was feeling much better, his muscles were tired from working the metal but he was feeling much more relieved. The heat and exhaustion was too much now, even if the day was cold his body was burning and at some point during his work he took his apron and shirt off throwing it away without looking where it landed. Sweat, soil, dirt was covering his body and he probably smelled as if he had been inside a fire and it was great.

 

 

His heart was racing now a bit harder for the activity he just had done but maybe he had lost himself in getting everything out that he overworked himself a little and that was why he was so agitated as if he had just run a marathon. He was feeling hot, almost suffocated so he needed to stop and do some lighter work. He took some metal sanding paper for polishing certain details of what he was working, first wetting a small cloth for the metal dust not jump everywhere.

 

 

As soon as the wolf head bored him he went on to polish what he had been working the other day, a small figure that could be worked as a necklace or keychain; it was a small wolf head. Why he did it he had no idea. He created a cast for it, after making the clay figure. Then he melted silver, metal he hardly used for considering it too fancy and expensive, but this wolf deserved to be shiny and pretty for It was a delicate work. It reminded him of Griever from that old Final Fantasy game he used to play when he was younger but instead of being a lion it was a wolf.

 

 

His feet started guiding him towards his work table while he was focused on polishing the little wolf. He leaned against it, using it as support without sitting on it. Maybe if he polished the wolf enough to be blinding the wolves would get out of his head. Maybe he just needed to calm himself so the wolves and the suffocating heat could leave him alone today.

 

 

“Hello?”

 

 

“Lord of light!” he screamed at top of his lungs and almost fell down as he had jumped startled.

 

Next to him, sitting on his work table was the cause of all his nightmares and the cause of the scare of his life. A hand of him was on his chest trying, in some way, to calm his heart which was beating its way out of his chest. She had almost gave him a heart attack.

 

 

Arya Stark was on his workshop laughing at him, again. How long? When? How? Fuck, no wonder he was so agitated the whole time, she was there! He felt her there even without acknowledging her presence. This soul bond was insane! He was just starting to grab on it and didn’t understand the extend of it but he was starting to get that he just knew when she was around somehow.

 

 

“Your Face! Priceless!!” And there she was, laughing so hard with tears on her eyes. He hated her, not really, but he wanted to yet her laugh caused him to feel warm inside. There was this brush of joy that passed through him and he could only enjoy it.

 

 

“You… you shouldn’t do that!!” he yelled at her, his heart was still in cardiac arrest and he was sure she took at least 10 years of his life “you shouldn’t go ninja on people when they are working with metal!”

 

 

“You are such a baby! It’s not like you were still in Thor mode hammering away or on your pyro phase!! laughter was still coming from her. How long had she been there!?

 

 

“You scared the crap out of me!!” breathe in, breathe out. He was trying to calm himself, not that it was possible because having her near meant his heart was beating a thousand times per second.

 

 

“You’re such a baby. I thought you knew I was here since you called my name a while ago…”  what the fuck did she just said? No, he didn’t?

 

 

“No, I did not!”

 

 

“Yes, you did! While you were looking at your metal thingy all serious and scrubbing the crap out of it you said my name more than once” she was smiling and telling the truth, he knew she was telling the truth for how smug she was. Crap, he had been thinking about her, he had the habit of talking out loud when he was in deep thought. “So, you were thinking about me, huh?” he glowered.

 

 

“No, I just remembered annoying client I worked for!” she laughed of his misery, again.

 

 

“Liar. So what were you working on? What’s behind the curtain?” and now he was feeling self-conscious, his big sculpture had now been covered behind the welder curtain and the small wolf piece was quickly hidden in his pocket.

 

 

“It’s not really finished” he rubbed the back of his neck after running his fingers through his hair. What if she thought it was bad? Maybe he could show her the small wolf pendant after he had finished it and put it on a keychain or chain.

 

 

“Show me!” – she said all happy and filled with curiosity, so much that he almost complied but it wasn’t finished and he wanted to impress her with her work.

 

 

“It’s not finished; no one can see it, yet.” hopefully his no non sense voice worked on her, he prayed for it to work. Her eyes were on him for a few minutes before sighting a muting a “fine” that implied her surrender.  

 

“What brings you here?” he dared to ask her. She really had no business here, the work he was hired to do was already over and they were not friends, were they?.

 

 

“I was bored” so he was entertainment for her? That didn’t make sense and he quiet didn’t know how to feel about that “And I came here to thank you”.

 

 

“Thank me? For what?” surprise was all over his face probably. Now he was fidgeting in his place, a hand ruffling his hair making it messier than usual and she was looking him straight in the eye. Her eyes were so deep it burnt.

 

 

“For fixing the car, stupid bullhead” she scoffed. Right, he had worked her on the car for her father “I know you put a lot of work into it because of the deadline and I know you did a lot of custom work. Besides, you were probably really busy with your midterms too, since you’re in school but you still accepted the job and worked really hard, all by yourself and the car turned out great” his heart was beating with happiness and he felt a strange surge, a tingly feeling like the ones he felt when he was embarrassed

 

She looked him in the eyes “You’re really good at your job, Gendry. My dad was so happy when he saw his gift, even said it was in better condition than when he had it. So, I wanted to thank you for it”  Saying he did not expect that was an understatement, he could feel the heat running through his face and neck.

 

 

“You shouldn’t thank me, it was my job” she sighted and anger was starting to come from her but it was gone quickly.

 

 

“You sure are a bull head boy, just say ‘you’re welcome’ when someone thanks you from the heart, idiot” she scoffed again. He didn’t understand what angered her for a second but he didn’t want her to be angry at him.

 

 

“You’re welcome m’lady!” he bowed “This humble servant was just doing his job,  m’lady” she hit him in the shoulder, it didn’t hurt but she wasn’t mad anymore since she chuckled while muttering “idiot” and he laughed at that.

 

 

She was still looking at him, he noticed. Her sight drifted from his face towards his body, she looked at his torso and suddenly he felt a small rise of temperature and in a second her eyes were back to his face, as if she had been caught looking at something she shouldn’t.

 

Right, he was still shirtless and dirty and maybe it was making her uncomfortable since it wasn’t proper. While looking for his dirty t-shirt to put back on, she started asking him questions about his hobby and work, like she usually did.

 

 

They lost track of time, just talking again he told her about his work and how much he liked it, about university and when he started talking about metal he lost it, he went on rambling about things he had worked before and even showed her some knives he had made ages ago and he couldn’t quite hide the smile he had when he talked about it.

She told him about her fencing training, he was really surprised to find out she was nationally ranked. He started noticing things about her, how happy she sounded when she talked about her family, especially when she talked about her dad or Jon. He noticed her nose pinched in a really cute whenever she laughed and she also tended to cover her mouth while laughing.

 

 

“It’s raining” she suddenly said while looking outside the window“fuck, I forgot about the storm”

 

“What storm?!” he heard no news about a storm but he did noticed the sky awfully grey when he left home.

 

 

“It was on the news. A storm was coming over, heavy rain, thunder, winds and maybe power cuts if it gets bad! It’s already pouring, I forgot I was promised to go home early!” she was worried now.

 

 

“I can take you home”

 

 

“If it starts pouring harder it’ll be dangerous to go all the way north, you won’t even get time to change your clothes” They started walking to the shop’s entrance, yes rain was starting. He had ridden in worse, but if the dark sky was an omen it meant it was going to get bad and the roas would be slippery.

 

 

“If it rains harder here it’ll be freezing here in the shop, we don’t really have a heating system. I can take you home, seriously it’ll be no problem. Call and tell you’re on your way” she started searching her pockets and a curse escaped her lips.

 

 

“Crap, I forgot my phone” while trying to dry and clean himself with a towel he handed her his own phone, she dialled someone that didn’t pick up.

 

 

“It’s better we go now” he said while handling her his helmet and taking one from the shop. He closed everything really fast and went towards his bike.

 

 

They hoped on his bike and he started the engine right away. He noticed just then that every time she had been to the shop she’d never had a car or any sort of vehicle. All the times she had been there and usually someone came to pick her up.

 

The rain started pouring sideways and the cold was creeping through his joints. He had handed her his leather before leaving so she was protected, there was no way he could get all the way north to where she lived. The roads were too slippery now, it’d be dangerous and It would be okay if it was just him riding, but with her on the back of the bike is different.  He detoured, they had to get coverage soon, he knew what he had to do but he didn’t like it.

 

 

“We won’t make it to your house, let’s go to mine and wait till the rain slows down” he yelled, he felt her nodding against his back and her arms gripped harder against him. Again, there was that electric shock where her hands touched him. When they arrived to his apartment he parked on the underground basement where, at last, they were protected from the rain. As soon as the motor turned off they jumped off the bike, soaked drenched. He was shivering, but he didn’t care because he needed her to get warm.

 

 

As soon as they entered his flat he guided her straight to the shower, which was in the only bathroom his apartment had and the only way to get there was his through his bedroom, he handed her clean towels and told her she would find dry clothes for her in his bed, he took out some clothes, placed them on the bed and left closing the bedroom door behind him.

 

He turned on the tv while and started making some coffee. He would have never imagined that one day Arya Stark, his soulmate, would be in his house using his shower. The pull towards her was still there, but now there was also something else and he could sense it. He felt on edge, nervous and a hundred thousand feelings came through his skin.

 

 

“Where do I put my wet clothes?”

 

Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She looked adorable in his eyes wearing one of his old shirts, that ended just above her knees and it looked massive on her. He gave up the idea of giving her some pants because there was no way one his would fit her because she was so tiny so he handed her a pair shorts one of his sisters left one time they had crashed at his place. He tried his best not to look at her for he liked the idea of her wearing something that belonged to him way too much.

 

 

He took her clothes and put them on to dryer dry before going to the shower, he needed a really cold shower to be able to live the night. As soon as he came out he could hear her talking on the phone.

 

 

“Yes, I’ll be fine”

 

 

“Shut up, idiot!”  

 

 

“I’ll be there once the rain calms down” well, she was informing when she’d be home.

 

 

“Don’t forget to feed the wolves and cover for me and Sansa. Well, tell Rickon to feed Shaggydog if you’re so scared of him, idiot. Right, bye. Shut up, asshole!”  she hanged up. He cleared his throat to make his presence known hoping she didn’t find it annoying he had been listening to her conversation.

 

 

“It’s okay I used the phone, right?” she asked him as he went to pour some coffee for both of them.

 

 

“how do you take your coffee?” he didn’t really know, did she even drink coffee? There were many things he didn’t know about her.

 

“Black” she smiled a bit as she shifted in her spot as if she didn’t know what to do.

 

 

“Yeah, it’s fine you used the phone. Your family must be worried” he handed her a cup and sat on the couch to watch tv for distraction and she sat right next to him. He had never had a problem with his couch, but now it was too small and it made her sat too close to him.

 

 

“That was Theon, you know him, he’s babysitting my little brothers. My parents are at Kings Landing on business with Robb and Jon ran away to Castle Black or some other place she sipped her coffee then let out a little laugh after “Sansa also disappeared to stay with her soulmate so she called Theon to take care of the guys and keep me company, but since I’m here they are stuck with him and Theon is stuck at home without much to do”

 

 

“That Theon guy is pretty close to you, right? I mean to your family to like… stay at your house and all” what was that guy to them. The way they talked seemed close and it bothered him a bit.

 

 

“He lived with us for a while before going to uni with Robb, you can say we’re related” there was fondness in her voice and his anger went away in an instance.

 

Why was it so easy to talk to her sometimes? Sitting next to each other, talking and drinking coffee it felt so intimate in some point.

 

 

“You have sisters, right?” that took him off guard.

 

 

“How do you know?”

 

 

“I saw a picture by your bedside and this are girl’s shorts” she pointed to her legs and he felt stupid.

 

 

“Right. I have Mya, Bella and Barra who are my sisters. I have a younger brother named Edric and I know I have some twin siblings but I haven’t met them. All of them on daddy dearest’s side”

 

She asked him if he got along with his siblings and he had to tell that he only really saw Mya and Bella since Barra was very young and lived in another city and Edric lived in Storm’s End with his mother but visited ocasionally. Mya was closest to him since they grew up close as Stannis introduced them when kids, Bella was away in college and the twins were somewhere Renly kept an eye on them.

 

 

And once again they started talking and time passed by; at some point they got hungry and he put out some chinese he had in the fridge. They sat back on the couch and talked about their families some more. He told her embarrassing stories about him and she laughed but it didn’t matter, he liked her laugh and the warmth it made him feel. Eventually she took out the wine he had left from his sister’s birthday gathering.

 

 

“you can’t be serious! You really kicked a wasp’s nest towards your brother?!”  she laughed.

 

 

“Yep, he wanted to see if the hot nurse was his soulmate. Total disaster and an enormous hospital bill was sent to daddy!” he refilled his glass. Stories about their siblings kept flowing.

 

 

“Jon was riding his bike when he saw a redhead who happened to be his soulmate, he passed out of impression and crashed his bike. Ygritte was the one who called the ambulance. He broke a rib, his left arm and got a scar on his face. And they said hello and banged on the hospital bed which was actually how he ended up breaking the second rib” he laughed really hard, Jon only told him about passing out not that it had something to do with his bike accident.

 

 

“Did you know HotPie entered a hot dog eating contest when he saw Willow?” she moved her head to say she didn’t know “He saw her at a carnival about a year ago, but then he couldn’t find her so his great plan was to enter the contest because if he was on the podium he could get a higher view of the fair. 82 hot dogs later, he won, found her ran to her and then he had to go and throw up. It was up to me and Lommy to get her name and number for him to call her once he got out from the bathroom.” she was laughing so hard.

 

 

“When she was 17, Queen Sansa was being harassed by some creepy guy named Bolton on one of your dad’s company Christmas parties. Out of nowhere, this gigantic dude appears and beats the crap out of the guy”  Gendry noted she had the habit of talking using her hands, it was really cute  “Once the big guy finishes beating  Bolton into a pulp and security takes him away, The Hound says in the most non-threatening way ‘are you alright, little bird?’ When she gets a good glimpse at Sandor’s face she started crying but like crying and sobbing Kim Kardashian face style in the middle of a business party and Robb had to take her out of there. Forward a month later, Bolton was still full on stalker mode so my dad decided to hire Sansa a body guard before she leaves to uni in Kings Landing and guess who was hired?

 

 

“No way! your dad didn’t look at his picture in the applicant forms of anything? Or did he set them up?” how were the odds?

 

 

“Apparently the guy had such an amazing resumé he didn’t need a picture. He had been bodyguard for really big important people, ex-marine and so on. For months Sansa haaaaated the guy, but I mean hated him”

 

 

“Can you blame her? The one time I met him, the guy looked as if he was constipated the whole time!”

 

 

“The guy’s pretty cool actually. But then, all of a sudden Sansa calls me and tells me his life story, she’s sobbing again and feeling bad for being such a bitch to him. So I told her to apologize and invite him for a treat, to make it up, you know. They ended up being a couple, totally head over heels for each other”

 

 

They kept drinking and telling stories. He told her about Mya and her soulmate. Outside the sky was falling apart with rain and it was really late now. They had been talking for hours.

 

 

“I met Mya once” she said while holding her glass, not looking at him – “At a bar, weeks ago. I had just arrived from Braavos” he gulped down his glass and poured himself another one he could feel the alcohol in his system now. She had that alcohol blush too, maybe that’s why she was speaking about _that_ topic – “You were there” – she looked at him in the eye when she said that and he felt an electric shock ran through him, warmth inside of him as he felt prickles and shivers on his spine and skin.

 

 

What could he say now? Confess and tell her that he was her soulmate? Maybe coming clean could solve things, they didn’t have to become a couple. They could continue as they were now, friends.

 

 

“I saw you that day, you… ran away” he cursed mentally, he didn’t want to say It that way. She was quiet now, not looking at him.

 

 

The power went out in that moment

 

 

“It’s late, we should sleep now” she didn’t want to talk about it and… he wasn’t in the right mind to ask. Maybe she was going to tell him that she hated him or that she didn’t want him.

 

 

“You can have my bed; I’ll sleep on the couch” she got up from her spot and kept quiet until he felt a tug on his arm.

 

 

“No, don’t be stubborn! It’ll be freezing in a while and…”  He stood up, she was guiding him towards his bedroom. It felt so right her being in his house.

 

 

“And…?” he just left himself being dragged. Really, it wasn’t right to sleep with her, he wasn’t sure he would control himself because the pull to be closer to her was now stronger than ever. The alcohol made it harder for him to resist her and it made him feel her presence more intensely.

 

 

“I can’t handle thunder storms alone!” she lied about it, he sensed it. Besides, she had been doing fine so far in the thunder storm but she wanted him with her for some reason and he couldn’t deny her.

 

 

“fine, let’s go to bed” he complied. He just prayed to the gods to be able to survive this night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fav, follow and comment if you like.
> 
>  
> 
> *spoiler*
> 
> we are canon, i'm so happy. skfjñsflkjaslkfjlfj happeeeeee


	6. Chapter 6

Almost two weeks had passed and Gendry had heard no word of Arya.

 

Once they went to bed during the storm, two weeks ago, he was instantly out once his head touched the pillow; he barely remembers getting to his bed. That was the most comfortable sleep he’d ever had, he dreamt of wolves running on a field in winter under a starry sky.

 

Next morning, he woke up alone and found a freshly made breakfast and a note that said:

 

 

_“Thanks for letting me stay._

_See you around, bullhead._

_PD: I’m keeping your shirt.”_

 

 

Arya Stark had run away, again and without saying goodbye, yet again. It was an annoying habit of running away and not saying goodbye or saying something, anything.

 

He knew he shouldn’t be mad at her because they were nothing, she had no obligation to call him or to even come to see him. But she said they’d see each other around and that was what he was holding onto, they had friends in common, they could run into each other when going out.

 

He had hoped to be considered at least a friend by now, but apparently that was not the case or that was what the pessimistic side of his brain was telling him. They were only acquaintances and that was it. He wanted to call her, he missed seeing her sitting in his work table with her legs crossed and he missed her questioning, he missed everything about her even the annoying bits.

 

 

Right now he was moping around at the shop. All week he had vented his frustration working overtime and doing every piece of assignment he had at uni. He crafted at least five other wolf pieces, painted and drew in his free time and started taking orders for custom knives to keep himself occupied.

 

He had even started making plans to keep himself occupied during winter break and all, by going to work with his uncle Stannis at his company, taking his offer of started to get to know how it’s like to work on a big company and put his degree to use. Office hours and all that were not something he was looking forward but there were things that needed to be done if he wanted to have a better life. His job at Mott’s was incredible, he loved working on cars and the freedom he had there to do what he liked and work on his personal projects but, wasn’t he supposed to live the better life he regretted her mother not having? Even when he wanted to clear his head, thoughts like that, and Arya, kept tormenting his mind so he could only focus on his work more.

 

 

Thankfully, few days ago Jon showed up with a car, a red 2014 Jeep to be painted black because apparently it was going to be sold o given away because Sansa, Arya’s older sister, was getting a new car. Jon mentioned his Sansa’s obsession with red cars, and this one looked horrible in red, this type of car, in his opinion, wasn’t meant to be in bright colors.

 

Jon still hanged around him on university and texted him to hang with him and his brothers, which he did a few times they went playing football. But he was too, stupidly, pissed at Arya to ask about her, yet he was dying to ask for her number but his stupid pride won the battle against doing so, and the guy didn’t even mention her nor said something about the fact that she spend a night at his place which Gendry felt grateful because it would be kind of awkward.

 

The only comment Jon said about his little sister was the fact that he hadn’t seen much of his siblings in the last few days for he had been studying like a maniac. Also, the guy got a bit moody when he mentioned that he hadn’t seen Arya much, it underlined a bit of a problem between the siblings and it wasn’t his place to ask.

 

 

Jon’s request gave him something to do and he started working on painting the car the very same day, it was too horrible in red to be kept that way. He got noticed that it was going to be delivered on Saturday, yeah delivered to Arya’s house. He was not going to do it; Mott would have to ask one of do guys to do the delivery it because he wasn’t getting near that place or at least that was his current plan, maybe on Saturday he would think differently.

 

 

To be honest, this week had been hell. He had felt more alone than ever and it didn’t make sense! The was this void of loneliness that crept under his skin like that thing he discovered was missing in him ever since he saw Arya for the first time was even stronger now. It was almost a physical ache, like something was wrong with his body and mind. There was something, like a force making him feel miserable, moody, depressed, anxious, lonely and just not himself. He couldn’t really explain it; it may have something to do with Arya or he may be coming with something or perhaps he needed a break.

 

 

He was planning on going home in a while, just stayed at the shop longer because his flat just didn’t felt right ever since she spent the night there, it made him feel lonelier. He was the only one at the shop and he had to close up. He could go out but he didn’t feel like it, Mya invited him to go bar hoping but he didn’t feel like third wheeling even though her soulmate was a pretty cool lad.

 

 

Just as he was closing the shop his phone rang, an unknown number was calling. Even though he didn’t feel like talking to anything belonging to the human kind he picked up because it could always be an emergency.

 

 

“Hello”

 

 

“Bullhead”

 

 

Gendry could swear he almost threw his phone to the other side of the shop in shock but his body was frozen in place. Arya was calling him. How in seven hells did she got his number?

 

 

“Arya?”

 

 

“No, idiot! It’s Melissandre the witch. Of course it’s me!” he could hear her annoyed voice.

 

 

And she was insulting him as per usual, he could hate her so much but he felt so happy at hearing her voice, fact he hated. Disgusting body reactions.

 

 

“I’m arriving to Winterfell in three hours, pick me up!”

 

 

“Wait, what?” she was calling him to pick her up? From where? She had been away? He needed to sit down.

 

 

“You heard me! Pick me up from the airport!”  

 

 

“I… I don’t have my bike today”  he used the bus today, he was too upset to drive and it was cold.

 

 

“Your bike is no use today, anyways! I have my bags with me! Use my car!”  

 

 

“Your car?” He was lost. Arya was demanding him to pick her up and to use her car, car he did not know she owned. Where was he going to pick her car? From her house? Why didn’t she call her family to pick her up?

 

 

“Yes, stupid bull! The Jeep Jon left at your shop to be painted is mine now. So come and pick me up from the airport, I’m at a stop in the Riverlands and I have to turn off my phone soon. Don’t even think of standing me up or I’ll kill you!” and the other line went dead.  

 

 

For a moment he wondered what could happen if he didn’t show up, she could get mad. But, why was she asking him to pick her up? Was anyone in her family available? He sighted, snorted, moved around in a tantrum kind of manner before getting inside the car.

 

 

Almost two hours and a half hours later, Gendry was cursing and arriving to the airport. The way to the airport was usually about an hour long if the highway was clear, which it was but  he got stuck in the traffic on the city because it was Friday night and everyone was going out, apparently. He spent so much time bored out of his mind while stuck in traffic and fighting the desire of turning back and go home instead of the airport.

 

 

Stupid world, stupid cars and stupid Arya, well she was not stupid. Traffic was always a pain in the ass and that’s why he preferred using a motorcycle instead of cars, even though this Jeep was pretty dope in his opinion. A Jeep Wrangler suited Arya, he couldn’t imagine her in a small sports car, she was more of an adventurous type of car and this would let her go anywhere.

 

 

He waited a bit in the parking lot before going to where people are supposed to wait at the airport to pick up their families and his heart did a flip flop when she appeared dragging an enormous bag, carryinh a long square black type of case on her other arm, a  backpacker style bag that was almost as big as her. He went into dumb guy mode when she smiled relieved at the sight of him. She looked tired, her hair was a mess, she was wearing the tee she stole from him, cargo pants and her usual chucks. She was the most beautiful thing he had seen in days.

 

 

As soon as she set her grey eyes on him, she smiled and he fidgeted in his place. Was she really happy to see him? He felt exited, even when didn’t want to but he had been moping for not seeing her for days and now she was there!

 

 

“You made it!” surprise was in her voice. He cursed, she probably assumed he wasn’t going to comply to her request, but here he was! Being an idiot and obeying him. She threw him one of her bags while asking where did he park the car. In the end he carried all of her belongings because they looked, and were, very heavy for her.

 

 

“Well, my lady here are your keys for your shiny ride. I’m leaving!” As soon as he put the bags on her car he handed her the keys. He was walking away from the car when something hit the back of his head.

 

 

“ouch! What the fuck was that for?!”

 

 

“You are not leaving! You have to drive!”  she had thrown the keys at his head, and he cursed while lifting them up.

 

 

“I’m not your fucking driver” he was debating in throwing the keys back at her or leaving.

 

 

“But, I don’t have a license! I failed the exam because I learnt to drive on the other side of the car, in Braavos you drive on the left side and here is the right side!”  she suddenly pouted and crossed her arms looking like a small brat in a tantrum. All he could do was sigh before heading back to her jeep opening the door for her, walking around and getting on the driver’s seat.

 

 

“You owe me” was all he could say; he wasn’t even looking at her but he could see her grin, she had gotten her way.

 

 

“Where to, m’lady? Her Winterfell castle, I assume?” he asked as soon as they hit the highway.

 

 

“They don’t expect me until the day after the morrow. Stop with the m’lady bullshit” if she didn’t want to go home she would find a way to not go, he knew her that much already.

 

 

“Then where do I drop you off?”

 

 

“Your place, obviously” she said it as if it was the most obvious, casual and normal thing in the universe.

 

 

“My place?!”  his voice was really loud and surprised.

 

 

“Yep. Can’t go home because it’s war zone and mom is angry at me”

 

 

“Then go to any of your friend’s house” No, no he did not want her in his house again, he was terrified of not being able to resist blurting out that he was her soulmate.

 

 

“You’re pretty much my only friend here in Winterfell” she voiced out softly and had her face down, prickling her nair and that did it. He felt his heart beating fast inside his chest he knew he should keep his eyes on the road and don’t get distracted. He felt blush creeping up his neck and a shiver down his spine.

 

 

“I’m sure you have plenty of friends, I’m just the only one that complies” he was now trying not to smile because she considered him her friend. Fact that was part of his emo mode this whole week, her not considering him her friend.

 

 

“Yep, but I just hang around my sibling’s friends. Since I didn’t go to high school here I don’t actually know many people. But I know you and we’re friends, right? You’re someone nice to have around”

 

 

And his heart was beating really hard and he wanted to smile so hard. Arya just talked so casually about being friends and he just felt so stupid about being a 24 years old guy excited because a teen considered him a friend. He was just pathetic; this whole soulmate thing had reduced him to the most pathetic human being in the whole world.

 

Yet he was so happy, he couldn’t stop the goofy grin because even if they were in a weird situation they were friends and she trusted him and that was enough for him at this very exact moment.

 

 

The way back to his place didn’t take long and they didn’t talk much, they went along in silence but it was comfortable silence. As soon as they arrived she jumped on his couch and he carried her bags all the way to his flat.

 

 

“Your place is cozy, I like it”

 

 

“Yeah, don’t get used to it” he said in a joking tone of voice and she laughed. He sat next to her after taking two beers from the fridge.

 

 

“So, why are you taking shelter on my house?” he was curious, but it was the logical type of curiosity: a girl comes from another country and asks a stranger to crash at his house.

 

 

She huffed “My house it’s war zone. I got into a fight with Sansa and my mum about dresses and girly stuff because they’ve been forcing me to go to this meetings and parties these past weeks and I got fed up and I didn’t want to attend another Tyrell dinner party” she sighed “Then Syrio invited me to a charity exhibition back in Braavos and I was just so tired of being home with mom breathing down my neck and the parties that I took off without telling no one and just stayed there training. I send Jon a text before leaving and called dad from the airport but they’re mad too because I took off without thinking” that gave sense for Jon not bringing the Arya topic up.

 

 

“You just took off to another continent?” she had a horrible habit of running away.

 

 

“Yes, I know. Not very mature, but I was pissed off at everyone when Syrio called. When I’m angry I don’t think much”

 

 

“Wait, do you even think?”

 

 

“Shut up, stupid” she punched his arm at that joke. They were again curled up on his couch, he didn’t even notice how she just got closer to him.

 

 

“Besides, they will have cooled off by Sunday. I know them, and I got them gifts this time. Wait, I got something for you!!”  She jumped from the couch and ran towards one of her bags and came back holding a lot of stuff.

 

 

“Look! This is for you! I thought you’ll find it funny!” she threw him a bright yellow t-shirt that said “hunting season” and had a stag crossed out stamped on it… what the hell?

 

 

“Amm, thanks” he tried his most honest voice.

 

 

“You don’t like it?” she was disappointed

 

 

“No! I like it! I just… don’t get it…” he scratched the side of his face.

 

 

“Robert’s family sigill and the the symbol of all of his companies is a stag, Baratheons are known as stags” she was kindly explaining while sitting back next to him. Now he got the meaning of it and he laughed. Now he could honestly thank it, it was funny because it rejected his father.

 

“If one day I see him I’ll make sure to wear this”

 

 

“See, knew you’ll like it!” she smiled and handed him a box of chocolate treats from Braavos, a book or art from there and a wooden bull statue.

 

 

“Even though you’re a stag by blood, you look more like a bull besides been so stubborn. So I saw it and got it for you. Kind of got the habit of getting dumb things for people, I know”  

 

 

“Really? What has been the dumbest thing you have gotten someone?”

 

 

“Let’s see. I once got Bran a book in a valerian dialogue, told him it was about something really deep and serious. He spent a lot of time learning the dialogue to find out it was a book about carving soap. I once got Robb a whip, because he’s whipped by Jeyne. I got Sansa a dvd of The Beauty and the Beast in pentossi, Rickon once got really spicy candy, Jon got a bleaching hair kit and I once got Theon moonshine that tasted like pee” she was smiling while retrieving those memories, her head was resting on his arms which made his heart beat faster.

 

 

Now that he thinks about it, the void and emptiness that consumed him these past few days was almost gone, maybe it had something to do with her being physically away from.

 

 

“I could never work wood, never got the hang of it” he said while analyzing at the wooden bull she gave him. It was small but incredibly detailed, probably a very precise knife work.

 

 

“You only work with metal?”

 

 

“Mostly, also clay and plaster” was playing with the statue on his hands.

 

 

“Do you paint or draw too?”

 

 

“Sometimes, when I have time”

 

 

“Is that what you’re majoring, art?”

 

 

“I wish!” he groaned “art doesn’t pay the bills so it is more of a hobby thing. My major is mechanical engineering since I already like working on cars, but it’s not the same”  

 

 

“Are you planning on working on the shop for a long time?”

 

 

“Not forever, Stannis offered me a place to work in is company ever since I graduated high school, Renly too, but that’s just too easy so I chose to go to college so I could be prepare if I decided to work for them, which I’m thinking of doing but there are many places I can work too, I guess” her hand was on top of his while playing with the bull.

 

Them being curled up on the couch, her head resting on him and their hands touching it was so intimate.

 

“I wanted to fence and only fence but even getting to do it was so hard, I had to convince my father to get me lessons. My mom still hates because she wanted me to be a ballet dancer like her and Sanca. If I want to keep fencing I have to go to college, I chose languages since I can talk many but, gods I wish I could only fence, you know? Train and practice, compete and train people” she sighed, she shifted to look at him slightly.

 

“Yeah, I wish I could work on metal all day or be at the shop or like… have one of my own. Maybe one day, after working at an office for years I can save enough for opening one, who knows” He’d never told anyone that, his dream “A big shop, where I can make a full art studio in the back on my free time or just do it as I please, I always wanted to learn more, get a proper training, see what other things can be done and how, you know?”.

 

“Yeah, here I learnt water dancing and that was why I wanted to go to Braavos, it was so different from what people do here…”

 

 

“You hate It here, don’t you?” he suddenly asked her. She talked so happy about Braavos, she had run away before and he could just feel it somehow, she didn’t like this place at some level.

 

 

“It’s not that I hate it, It’s just that I’ve been away far too long it no longer feels like home in some way. Besides, the world is just so big, why stay in one place? Don’t you feel like traveling?”

 

 

“Never thought much about it, guess I was always just focused on working first to help my mum pay the bills and then her meds, then I just focused on getting by myself”  he extended his arm to look at their hands together, she intertwined her fingers with his “Guess there are places I’d like to go, see what’s out there”

 

 

“How was she like? Your mom?” her voiced lowered a bit. He never talked about his mother, it was just hard but talking to her felt casual, easy. It was too easy to talk to her.

 

 

“She was kind and very pretty; she was a waitress at a pub down Flea Bottom’s. We used to live there and she would take me to work when I was little, got me color pencils and sketchbooks for me to pass time and that’s how I began drawing. Her hair was blonde and she used to wear it long before it fell out from chemo. Sometimes she sang at the pub, that was how Robert met her” there was just an awful feeling on his throat, he always felt like crying when he talked about his mum.

 

 

“How old were you when she…”

 

 

“I was 7 when she was diagnosed with leukemia, she passed away when I was 10” he felt her grip tighten on his in a reassuring way. He cleared his throat to get it together “I’m starving, aren’t you hungry? You must be since you flew all the way from Braavos and had crappy airplane food” the topic needed to change, the atmosphere felt gloomy now.

 

 

Her stomach grumbled to answer his question, she blushed and covered her face with both hands, letting his hand free and chuckling. He laughed softly and got up to check what he had on the fridge.

 

The previous moment was too much, he was overwhelmed. Yes, they talked most of the time but it never felt as intimate as it did now, he was happy, contempt and smiling. He was making progress with her, she was letting her guards down and opening to him and he was doing the same. Perhaps she was accepting him as his soulmate, perhaps she was really interested in him beyond the bond but overall and even if it wasn’t the case they were building something and at the moment it was more than enough for him.

 

 

“There’s nothing to eat unless we cook. Fancy some pizza?” he asked her while closing the fridge, right he had forgotten he was supposed to do grocery shopping today.

 

 

“Are you kidding? pizza is always good!!” she exclaimed, she was surfing channels on the tv looking for something to watch. 20 minutes later they were eating pizza with beer and watching the worst movie of all time: The Room. It was just so bad they laughed away the whole time. When it finished another movie began, a drama and both drifted away.

 

 

Gendry woke up in the middle of the night, somehow he had lied on the couch at some point and Arya cuddled and half of her was on top of him, one of his arms around her. Her, in his arms, felt so right. For a moment he felt whole, the void and misery he’d been feeling was completely gone. Is that how he was supposed to feel? Was it right? He wanted her, it was more than just a physical thing and he was understanding it now, but she was a lady, a highborn and he was just a bastard. Arya was from a rich family, she deserved someone better than him to be her soulmate. But he could be worthy of her if he made a name for himself. For now, it was just enough being her friend.

 

 

He carried her to his bed, she was a heavy sleeper apparently. He tugged her in and kissed her forehead before saying goodnight.

 

The couch was going to be his bed for the night, it wasn’t proper for them to sleep together in the same bed. Thankfully his couch was relatively comfortable. He had a dreamless night and was awoken by someone shaking him.

 

 

 

“Hey! wake up! Why are you in the couch?!”

 

 

“What?” he sat down rubbing his eyes “What time is it?”

 

 

“8am, sleepyhead” she laughed “why did you sleep on the couch? There’s plenty of space in your bed!”

 

“It’s not proper” she sighed

 

“You’re so stupid”

 

“I’ll make some breakfast” he had some eggs and bread to make something, he’d probably had to buy something later but it was enough for now.

 

“Hey, do you have plans for the day?” she followed him to the kitchen.

 

“Not really, I’m grocery shopping and maybe the gym later”

 

“What do you do? Crossfit?”

 

“If I was into crossfit I’d probably have mentioned it already, don’t you think?” he smirked and she rolled her eyes.

 

“I don’t want to go home, yet…”

 

“You… you can stay” he offered her as he cracked two eggs into the pan, Arya was putting some coffee.

 

“Can I? really?” he felt her doubting

 

“You’re already here, aren’t you? It’s not that fun going grocery shopping but you can come with me, maybe we can do something fun or just laze around” he shrugged

 

 

“Can you teach me to drive?”

 

 

“You said you didn’t have a license, not that you didn’t know how to drive” he covered a yawn with his hand.

 

 

“I know but not like people drive here, it’s more of a practice thing…will you help me?!”

 

“we can go to someplace so you can practice without causing accidents” she was putting plates on the table.

 

“Great!”

 

Later that day he took her to the industrial district which was pretty empty on weekends and started teaching her, to help her change her customs and getting used to the way people drove in this city. Then they went shopping and spent the day in his flat watching movies. By Sunday they spent the day at the riverbank, talking until he finally dropped her at the entrance of her massive house. He was making his way to the bus stop after saying his goodbyes.

 

 

“Hey, wait” she called him while he was going away, he turned around to face her.

 

 

“Do you have a suit?”

 

 

“Yes… why?” –

 

 

“Next party I’m forced to attend, will you come with me as moral support?”

 

 

He laughed “As you wish, m’lady” she rolled her eyes before driving away.

 

 

He walked home feeling on cloud nine before reality hit him. The moment he crossed the door to his apartment he was hit with silence, his place was not the same and he was alone. It was there again, the emptiness inside of him that came when Arya was not around. He needed to tell her that she was it for him, she was his soulmate or he was going to get crazy. He only would need to figure out a way of telling her without her running away or he needed to find out why or what was making her run away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fav, follow, comment, suggest as you like :)
> 
> Your comments make me happy


	7. Chapter 7

“So you are telling me that my sister has spent several nights at your place and you haven’t done anything?”  was the question Jon asked that Saturday afternoon at the auto shop, after a while of having dropped by. It wasn’t unusual for Jon to drop by the shop unannounced and it usually happens when Ygritte was away someplace visiting her family. Now Jon was sitting on Arya’s usual spot at his worktable while eating a sandwich.

 

 

“Is it really so hard to believe?  Gendry let out a sigh after answering Jon and his quizzical lifted and suspiciously perfect eyebrow.

 

 

“A little” he shrugged “Theon owes me 50 bucks, though. He bets you’ll be the second ones on giving us nephews. Robb is still the first option to win that bet, even dad bets on that one.”  Jon laughed before sipping from his can of soda.

 

 

“Are you being serious?! You made a bet if I was shagging your sister?! And you all have a bet  that your brother is going to be a father soon? Gods, you guys are so weird….” The Starks were the weirdest family he had ever met. How could a brother make a bet if her sister was shagging someone?! That was plain unbelievable.

 

 

“Hey! With how smitten you were when you saw her for the first time and Arya spending all her time with you at your place, I thought it was a possibility but I knew you were too scared to do something, and if you had I’m sure she would’ve mentioned it to me somehow. Theon was the one that bet that neither of you could keep it in your pants, hate on him!” the guy just shrugged the question off, at least he didn’t believe him to be a pervert so bad. He did believe him to be a coward, though.

 

 

“Does… does your entire family know? I mean… does your family know I’m your sister’s mate?” he asked while rolling under Jon’s car. Apparently his friend found it really convenient to have a friend who happened to be a mechanic. But it was mostly because Jon was over attached to his car, fearing it would even get a small scratch.

 

 

“Theon pretty much figured it out after seeing you both on your matching night and he knew something was up when he talked to Arya on the phone during the storm, can bet he told Robb about it because they tell each other everything, like everything! Sometimes I believe those two to be actual soulmates. Sansa knows Arya found her soulmate but doesn’t know who it is; Bran definitely knows because he fucking knows everything; and Rickon knows because Theon ‘blabbermouth’ must have told him. Ned and Cate probably guess it, dad always knows what Arya is up to” that was great, the whole family knew. What would they think of him?

 

 

“Well, guess everyone was going to find out eventually, right?”

 

 

“So, you have finally accepted that you and my sister are soulmates and are going to stop running?”

 

 

Of course, Gendry didn’t answer. Jon was right, Arya wasn’t the only one who ran after finding her soulmate, he had done the same by avoiding the issue and not seeking her out. He had called her a coward, but she did reach for him making her the brave one out of the two.

 

 

“And do you even know where your soulmate is? Haven’t seen her much these days, with finals and all so I haven’t talked to her” Yes, both had finished finals the day before and on Saturday morning he felt like working on a few cars alone at the shop, he always enjoyed doing that to relieve some stress in a productive way and Jon happened to drop by but since he enjoyed Jon’s company it was okay.

 

 

“She’s training, has a tournament coming up” and for the first time he knew what Arya was doing. Their relationship had taken a step forward. At first it started with texting and calls, she also dropped by unannounced on his place most of the time. Sometimes he picked her up from practice and they went to grab a bite, the cinema or just to hang around. They were friends.

 

 

“Lockdown, again? Her coach is such a weirdo” Apparently her coach, some guy called Jacqen was indeed a pretty weird guy whose way of training implied making his trainees practice for days on end before a tournament with no distractions or interruptions bunking on the training center.

 

 

“Well, I can’t say I’m not glad you guys are finally dating”

 

 

“We’re not dating; we are friends” if they dated they would do much more than what they did. She would place her head on his shoulder while watching tv or sometimes hold his hand to drag him someplace, but that was pretty much it! And he was scared out of his life of touching her and not being able to keep control or keep It in his pants.

 

 

 The one time he tried to do something, she ignored him for days.

 

 

He still remembered it, they had been playing videogames at his place a few weeks back. After he beat her up un a round. Arya, being the sore loser she was, tackled him and both fell to the ground.

 

She was there, on top of him, and for a moment he lost control of it all, he acted in a way he always wanted. He placed one his hands on the small of her back and the other placed a strand of hair behind her ear. She was there, in front of him with her big grey eyes looking at him, his eyes drifted towards her lips, those that distracted him so much all the time. He wasn’t thinking at that moment; he was just acting as in command. He lifted his head to get closer, to finally kiss her. He was just millimetres away when he felt it. The terror that entered his body from outside of his body and paralyzed him to the core, then she jumped away from him, mumbled something about being late and left him there, on the floor.

 

 

He didn’t hear anything about her for days, she ignored his calls and texts. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to say if she answered but he called her a hundred times none the less. Two weeks later, she showed up at his place and acted as if nothing had happened. That was pretty much the last time he tried something, he just went along with whatever she wanted to do.

 

 

That time he learnt a lesson, if he forced her in any way she would run away. Something scared her that night, she was going to kiss him but something passed through her mind, the flickered that crossed her eyes were the indication of a fear she had. Now he needed to find a way to make her trust him hard enough to tell her what she feared.

 

 

“at least you are friends now. It would’ve been horrible if you hated each other like Sansa and Sandor did. They avoided validating the soul bond so bad she almost went mad”

 

 

“validating the bond?” that caught his attention. Truth be told, he didn’t know much about the soul bond. He rolled out from under the car and sat down, Jon threw him a can of soda, he caught in mid-air.

 

 

“Aye! Sam explained something like that to me at one point. He investigated a lot when he met Gilly and read all about soulmate bonds”

 

 

“What did he tell you” curiosity filled him in.

 

 

“Soul bonds are, apparently, one of the last traces of magic in the world. Two are connected by that bond, they are soulmates and they will find each other and feel the need to validate the bond. That means accepting it physically and mentally, accepting the other person is your soulmate”

 

 

“What happens when you don’t accept it?” He knew there were loners, he thought he was one until he saw Arya at the bar all those months ago. He always met people who accepted their soulmates, never one that rejected it.

 

 

“It goes against nature. When you rejected it, you felt miserable right?” he could only nod head in answer. Yes, the surprise made him hide from the world, he was about to go all Into The Wild and live in the forest. But all that time, some part of him still wasn’t willing to accept it. But he remembers how he felt lost, incomplete and just plain sick when he went against accepting the fact that the girl he had seen at a bar was meant to be his soulmate “When she was away in Braavos, when she got mad at everyone and went away for the exhibiton,  you felt worst, didn’t you? Distance also takes a toll on the bonded ones” he nodded in acceptance “Right now, I feel like I’m hangover even when I haven’t drank at all, that’s because Ygritte is away further north, she must be feeling that way too, yet since we have a validated bond I don’t think it’s that hard as it is for you, but that’s just a guess”

 

 

“I know from what I saw in Sansa. She had always hoped to be matched with a prince charming type of guy, so it was obviously a shock when she met Clegane. You saw his scar; it was done by his mentally ill brother when he was a toddler. But it was also his character what shook her world. Soulmatching is a duality, they complement each other. The Hound is ruff, violent and doesn’t take any shit while Sansa is sweetquick witted, smart  and conceited. He brought her feet to the ground, showed her another side of the world where there is beauty on scars and difficulty. He made her defend herself while always having her back. The first few months of him being her bodyguard she rejected him but he didn’t run, he protected her from the stalker and told her out frankly how he felt about her all the time yet always doing it in a rough way”

 

 

“When did she accept it?”

 

 

“I still don’t know the whole story, I know she called Arya to complain and yell that life wasn’t fair and all because the guy wasn’t charming and Arya called out on her, even when he couldn’ve left he endured all her bitching and not looking at him,protected her and didn’t complain of how bad she treated him and it worked, Sansa saw that she was also insufferable and made his life hell. She went to apologize, even brought him a homemade lemon cake and all, they talked and figured things out slowly” Jon took a sip of his soda “I remember that the time while Sansa rejected her bond, she was depressed and miserable, almost sick. As soon as they accepted eachc other, you could see her change, the gloominess was gone, the sadness and anger were gone and she was filled with a happiness I had never seen on her. The guy changed too, because what she brought him into their match, Sansa showed him that there is good and beauty in this fucked up world that rejected him all along. He’s terrifying, but when how he treats her is so different, he goes soft, as soft as a guy like Clegane can go but it’s pretty incredible” Jon cleared his throat as he finished his sister’s story.

 

 

“Does your family accept the soulmates just like that?” that was one of his fears, not only being rejected by Arya but being rejected by the whole family.

 

 

“They all know there’s nothing you can do about it because if they had rejected Yritte, Sandor or Jeyne they would have harmed me, Sansa or Robb”

 

 

“But that’s it, they just accept it because they have to?”

 

 

“My parents are good people, Gendry; they try getting along with our soulmates. Catelyn loves Jeyne; she likes Gritt even though wishes my wild thing could control her language a little bit more. My parents have a great respect for The Hound, even named him head of security in the company” could they accept him? Just a bastard?

 

“You’re going to be fine because you’re a good person. You are hardworking and responsible which are things Ned admires and I imagine that Catelyn will start imagining pretty grandchildren when she sees you next to Arya” Jon chuckled

 

“Are you saying you think I’m handsome”

 

“Well, you’re not bad looking and Arya said you were hot”

 

“when did she say that?!” he was shocked

 

“First time she saw you, when you both talk about that night, ask how she described you” Jon wiggled his eyebrows in a teasing manner.

 

“Soulmatching is such a complicated shit” he huffed.

 

“One time there was a problem with the soulbonds, my real mum and dad…” Jon’s voice got serious “I know my father married before meeting my mother, arranged marriage to benefit the families, you see. But when he met my mother, Lyanna, they couldn’t help it. Big problem because she was going to marry her boyfriend. Never understood that, she was in love but it was not a soulbond, I guess. Anyways, people complained and they ran away and eloped. Then, a car accident happened and Rhaegar died, mum died short after of childbirth complications” it was the first time Jon mentioned his birth parents “I never got to meet them, Ned took me in and raised me”

 

 

“Ned sometimes says that my mum died also of complications of a broken heart for losing her soulmate. Can bet you can’t imagine who was her boyfriend before meeting Rhaegar” why would he know who was his birth mother’s boyfriend. Jon probably knew he had no idea because he answered his own question  “Your father, Roberet Baratheon”

 

 

“You’re being serious?!” he was shocked, he never imagined that his father was going to marry Arya’s aunt.

 

 

“Quite a coincidence, right? Your father and my aunt were something before she was matched, don’t know what happened to him though. Ned never talks about it, at least to me. Robert married Cercei, but that’s no bond, anyone can tell if you see them interact and all I know is that he was devastated when Lyanna left him. I think that is why your dad has a weird fascination with Arya because she is the spitting image of Lyanna. Her full name is Arya Lyanna Stark, actually. Never call her that though, she hates it. She hates being compared to my mother, since everyone says that they look alike and had similar personalities” If he could be more surprised, he would not believe it. Today Jon had dropped a lot of information hard to process and for some reason he felt like he should know more about that story.

 

 

“You accepted it immediately, the bond. According to Arya it only took a ‘hello’ from you to _act_ ” he tried to change the topic. Even though he could really appreciate the fact that Jon told him something so close to his heart, he could feel his friend’s sadness of talking about his parents.

 

“Yes, I did” the guy chuckled “Can’t believe Arya told you that, damn that little wolf. In my case I saw Ygritte, she was waiting to cross the street and I was driving and for some reason I looked left and there she was! And it was as if I had known her all my life, even when she is from outside The Wall but when I saw her eyes it was as if I knew her since forever, everything about her. Instant attraction, instant understanding. I passed out and fell from the bike, hit a delivery van and broke my rib and scared my face” Apparently Jon couldn’t stop smiling when he talked about his soulmate “She called the ambulance, and she just knew my name. We are banned from that clinic for indecent behaviour. Totally worth it, though”.

 

 

“You’re disgusting, no wonder you bet if I shagged your sister” Gendry chuckled “But you never questioned it? You always wanted to be matched?” he asked, looking down and sipping from his can.

 

 

“So that’s your big issue about it” realisation hit Jon “It was the fact itself of being matched and not who your match is” Finally Jon caught a grip of his problem.

 

 

“I always thought I was a loner, like my mum”

 

 

“But you’re not so stop fucking whining about it! With how shocked you were when you saw Arya for the first time I thought I was going to have a serious conversation with her”  Jon lifted his eyebrows in a suggestive manner that made Gendry blush.

 

 

“She is afraid of something, not sure what. I just feel it” he was still trying to get why she didn’t want to talk about their match. She wanted to be close to him but not too close. And most important of all, he could feel it. He just knew sometimes what she was feeling deep inside, it was more clear when she was in a close distance. He sensed when she was happy, angry which was mostly at him, sad and a whole bunch of feelings que couldn’t understand. It took him a while of figuring out, but when she was experiencing strong emotions they got through him, it was as if he was feeling them too but at the same time as if they came from someplace outside of him.

 

“You feel it?” curiosity filled Jon

 

 

“Aye, I can tell what she feels sometimes, I just can sense it. Doesn’t it happen to you too?” was he the only freak who could feel what his soulmate felt?

 

 

“That’s deep shit, mate. I can tell pretty much what goes around Gritt’s head most of the time like we can read each other’s mind. But feelings? No, that’s a whole different thing! He never knew what was going through Arya’s head, she always surprised him. He ran his hand through his hair, soulbonding stressed him out way too much “Does she feel what you feel?”

 

He had always wondered but she never showed any indication so he didn’t know “I… I don’t know…” Jon nodded

 

 

“Perhaps each bond is different. I’ll ask Sam if he knows something about it and maybe I’ll try talking to Arya, but she’s so secretive about it. Anyways, changing topic, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while?”

 

 

“Ask away” what could Jon possibly want to know, he felt intrigued. Nonetheless, something in his gut told him he was not going to like what was coming.

 

 

“Would you be mad if I talked to my dad about your work?”

 

 

“What can you possibly tell your dad about my work?” he was lost, truly lost.

 

 

“Dad asked who repaired his car, the Camaro. I already told you it was his birthday present. Well, he said that whoever did it was a great mechanic, one of the finest he’s seen. So I told him it was you, my friend Gendry Waters from university! HE asked about your major and told me that if you wanted to work or an internship at the company, you should talk to him”  that was a shocker, he could work for his soulmate’s father.

 

 

“Thanks, but no thanks” – no, that would complicate things up.

 

 

“Too late, already told him you’ll be interested and meeting him Monday morning, 9 sharp!” son of a… the guy was just… like Arya. Assuming people would do whatever they pleased or comply with their schemes.

 

 

“Damn you Starks! You are all the same!” – he yelled in annoyance and laughed defeated, he couldn’t be surprised if all Starks acted that way. Jon laughed out loud and grabbed another can of soda.

 

 

“So, Ygritte got bored of you and decided to hunt The Others??”

 

 

“Nah, she’s outside the wall visiting her family, comes back in a few days. I’m just killing time here while solving my little sister’s love life. Be glad I’m a hell of a brother in law! What about you? Why are you working on Saturday?” the question was shot as soon as Gendry rolled under his car again.

 

 

“Soon I’ll leave the shop and go corporate. I’m enjoying it while I can, also this are the times I do personal projects, cash on my own that goes directly onto my savings account”  since he was planning on working at Stannis company next summer, he knew that when it happens he would not have enough time for his hobbies.

 

 

“If you like cars and art so much, why don’t you just do it for a living?”  The same question Arya asked him once.

 

 

“Because bills need to get paid” he answered while rolling out again and getting up. He was pretty much done with Jon’s car so he was going to get change now.

 

 

“Hey, Robb, Theon, Satin and a few of our friends are playing rugby later, we need one more for the team, you in?” Jon asked while he was headed towards the bathroom to get changed. Rugby, he was a really good player during his high school days, it had been a while since he last played but yeah, he would join them. He was always in for a game, sometimes he had played with Jon and Robb some football, but rugby was way more in his alley  “Yeah, count me in” he replied while getting out from the bathroom.

 

 

As soon as he was out something happened, something he couldn’t explain. He felt as if someone, an invisible being, had just punched him down in the gut and sucked the air out of his lungs. He felt pain, sadness, surprise and anger crawl into him. His heart tightened on his chest and it was hard to breath. He could feel cold sweat, he hunched over a bit to hold himself using the door as support. Not enough air was getting into him, he was feeling dizzy as if he may lose his footing anytime.

 

 

“Gendry, are you alright?!” Next to him was Jon, when had he walked in so close? You look pale.

 

 

No, he was not okay. Something had happened, but it was not to him. This feeling, this odd feeling was similar as when he was close to Arya and he could sense whatever she was feeling at the moment, but it had never been this intense. It always happened when she was close, not when she was faraway.

 

 

“Arya! Something has happened to her” he declared as soon as he could breath and speak again yet his voice sounded dry and scratchy. His phone was out, he needed to call her, immediately. He was completely sure something was going on with her.

 

 

“what? Arya?! How are you so sure?”

 

 

 

“I don’t know! But something’s going on with her!” He probably sounded crazy now, he was desperately calling her and she was not answering. Fuck it, he was going out and search for her. Jon’s phone started ringing at that moment.

 

 

“It’s Sansa, wait!” Jon answered, Gendry was already getting his stuff to get out and look for Arya when he heard Jon raising his voice while talking to his sister, the guy motioned him to look at him and wait.

 

 

“what? Sansa explain, what happened?” there was a pause, Jon’s face went pale “I’m on my way” Jon hanged up and looked at him straight in the eye.

 

 

“Bran was in a car accident! he’s at the hospital right now. Everyone is heading there, Arya included. Let’s go!” Jon was going to his car, Gendry followed.

 

 

He really hoped Arya’s brother was okay, he really hoped it wasn’t anything serios. Jon was silent the whole way, a hard look on his face and breaking every speed limit possible. Fast and Furious had nothing on Jon’s driving at the moment.

 

 

Jon had just included him on a family tragedy by taking him to the hospital. He was sure that the intense wave of feelings that crashed into him a while ago was the result of Arya hearing the news about her brother’s accident. He just needed to see her, to make sure she was alright and support her. He could still feel, sense, her pain, sorrow and sadness.

 

 

It took them five minutes to get to the hospital, one minute for the nurse to tell them that his brother was in surgery on the third floor and it took them a matter of seconds to run towards the direction said nurse had indicated.

 

 

As soon as they were heading to the waiting area outside of the operations room he saw a small group of people, three red haired ones, two he could recognize as Sansa and Robb. He could assume the other one, the older lady, to be their mother.

 

 

What happened?” Jon asked while walking towards his family, Gendry slowed down his pace not sure what to do now. He was a friend, not part of the family.

 

 

“Gendry” he heard Arya whisper before getting detached from her family and running straight into his arms. He held her there, she was shaking and her arms were gripped firmly around her waist, her face buried in his chest. He could feel everything now so hard, what she was feeling that it almost made him want to cry, perhaps that was what she wanted to do but she was playing strong.  

 

 

“Arry…” was all he could mutter when he had her in his arms.

 

 

He received an odd look from Arya’s mother, one filled with curiosity, before she went on explaining Bran’s condition to Jon. Apparently a speeding car skipped a red light as Bran was crossing the street.

 

 

“He’s in surgery now, they say his leg is shattered and his spine” Arya mumbled on his chest. He was trying to calm her, stroking a hand up and down her back and telling her that everything was going to be okay. She was still on her fencing gear, and her hair was in a messy bun. Gendry could see her bag, helmet and sword placed on the ground next to where Rickon Stark was sitting all quiet.

 

 

“have they said anything else? Is he going to be alright?” Jon was trying to get more information out of Catelyn who was being hugged by her eldest son, who tried to calm her as the woman cried.

 

 

“His leg is broken and his femoral artery was compromised. They said something about his his spine, I don’t know. Dad is flying back home right now with Sandor” Sansa answered him.

 

 

“He’s going to be alright, you’ll see” Gendry whispered to Arya. There was nothing he or anyone could do now, his only resort was to comfort Arya as much as he could. He tried to feel calm and hopeful, because if he could feel Arya’s emotions, maybe she could feel his and it could help her somehow or, at least, he hoped It did.

 

 

Hours passed, Sansa and Jon kept passing around the halls. Catelyn was sitting next to Robb, who still had her arms around her. Arya detached from his arms at some point to sit down, but she never let go of his hand. Rickon was quiet sitting on the same spot with a serious face.

 

 

When the doctor walked through the doors every Stark ran to him, him included since Arya dragged him as she was not letting go of his hand. All of them bombarded him with questions and all of them let out sighs of relief when they managed to know Bran was out of danger.

 

 

The accident had been very serious, his leg had been broken into several pieces and he lost a lot of blood but he was going to be alright. The doctors managed to fix the haemorrhage almost immediately and placed a metal plaque on his leg. His spine had been compromises and they had to wait for him to wake in order to know the damage done to him, but otherwise, he was going to live and that was the most important thing. Now he was resting on observation and only one person was going to be allowed to visit him until tomorrow when he was going to be moved into a private room.

 

 

Arya jumped on him for a hug of excitement when she heard her brother was going to be alright, he could feel the happiness in her even though concern and worrisome was still there. He hugged her back and had to contain himself to kiss her forehead because everyone was there.

 

Since Catelyn was the obvious choice for staying the night with Bran, all of the other Starks were arguing over how they all wanted to stay. Until Catelyn silenced them all and started speaking.

 

 

“Jon, you are going to pick Eddard from the airport, he’s arriving in a few hours with Sandor and I don’t know who else might be coming to”

 

 

“But, Catelyn…” Jon was silenced by a furious glare.

 

 

“Sansa you are going over to the house and prepare a bag for everything your brother is going to need during his stay here at the hospital and also pick stuff for me, you’re the one who knows where everything is back at the house” the redhead tried to speak but received the same glare Jon did a few seconds ago  “Rickon you can’t stay the night at the hospital you’re too young”

 

 

“I’m not a kid, I can stay!”

 

 

“No, you can’t. You’re coming tomorrow along with your sisters. Arya, you go back to the house and shower because you stink. Robb is the one staying in case anything happens until your father arrives, understood?”

 

 

And the complains died, Gendry could see how all of the Starks wanted to speak up but surrendered knowing it was a lost fight. Catelyn Stark was just scary and… strict.

 

 

“You…”

 

When the blue and serious eyes of Catelyn Stark were placed on him, he gulped. When those eyes lingered over the hand Arya had intertwined her fingers with, he gulped again. He could feel the cold sweat drops streaking down the back of his neck and a chuckle coming from the short person on his side when he let go of Arya’s hand in a reflex motion.

 

 

“We have not been properly introduced”

 

 

“I’m sorry. I’m…”

 

“He’s Gendry” Arya said as if it answered and explained everything, he could hear Jon chuckling someone mumbling in the back. Catelyn Stark was scanning him, looking at him up and down before grinning a bit with a devious look in her eyes show.

 

 

“Well, thank you Gendry for supporting my daughter and all of us during these hard times. And I’m sorry, but can you, please, be so kind of accompanying my daughters and Rickon back to our house? I’d feel much more relieved if they don’t go alone this late at night”

 

 

“Mum, he…” – Arya tried to say something but he cut her off.

 

 

“Yes, of course. It’d be my pleasure, Lady Stark” he’d been requested something, his soulmate’s mother requested something from him and he was going to make a good impression. His mother taught him manners and he would display them on tonight.

 

“thank you very much, Gendry. Now, please go now before it gets even darker” he was dismissed, if the look in Catelyn was any indication, she had approved of him at some extent, at least as Arya’s friend who held her hand for hours and whom she liked to hug.

 

When Jon pulled him to one side he was pretty much shocked with everything happening around him.

 

 

“Catelyn likes you so far, don’t make her change her mind. I know this might sound weird but please be you the one who drives them back home, Sansa and Arya drive horribly and I’m kind of freaked out with car accidents at the moment. Can you do it?”

 

 

“Yeah, no problem”

 

 

“Thanks, mate. Cat is going to like you even more now!” Snow wiggled his eyebrows teasing him and making him blush.

 

 

Few minutes later, he was walking, while carrying Arya’s stuff, towards her car with Sansa, Rickon following behind. The way to their house was pretty quick since it was very late and it was done in complete silence. The siblings were still shit worried about their brother and he couldn’t blame them. He could still sense the sadness and worriedness in Arya, but it was also accompanied by something that felt as hope and optimism.

 

 

Once they arrived and he carried Arya’s stuff inside the house he was ready to say goodbye until tomorrow.

 

 

“Rickon, are you hungry?”  he heard Sansa ask.

 

 

“A bit…”

 

 

“Go to the kitchen, I’ll heat you something up since Hodor must be asleep already. Arya, take a shower so you can eat something too. Gendry, you must be hungry also, come inside and have something” the redhead disappeared, making her way to the kitchen and not giving him time to reply.

 

 

“She’s not asking you if you want to eat, she’s pretty much ordering you to come inside and have dinner, you know? Let’s go!” Rickon motioned for him to follow his lead and he went inside, he saw Arya making her way upstairs.

 

 

The Stark house was huge, in reality it was a mansion and not a simple house. He knew the Starks were rich but not that rich. The kitchen itself was pretty much the size of his apartment and it was filled with modern appliances. He followed Rickon as he sat on the kitchen island and watched Sansa moving around heating food.

 

 

“Here, have some” in front of him was a bowl of stew and some bread, she served him something to drink too. He was unsure but he ate anyways while Sansa started making sandwiches and putting them on a tray, along with cans of soda.

 

 

“You can stay the night if you want” Sansa said quietly

 

 

“Uhm, thanks but…”

 

 

“Again, she’s not asking you. It’d be cool if you stay, though. You can use the guest room!” the youngest told him.

 

 

“I know Arya would like you to stay” he felt the blush creep up his neck while Sansa Stark smiled softly at him.

 

 

“Yep, I think she would like that very much!” Rickon chuckled. That kid for being so young was pretty smart.

 

 

“Besides, who’s going to help me carry all of mum’s bags tomorrow? I’m sure you’d like to impress her even more” and now he was blushing hard and not looking up while the others two laughed at him softly. He finished his bowl of stew and just as he prepared to say his goodbyes, again, Sansa asked him to give Arya the tray of sandwiches.

 

 

“I know she would say no to eat something right now. But I also know she’s going to wake up in the middle of the night hungry so I’m sending her something now to survive on later. Please take it to her, if you’d be so kind. Thank you. Rickon, you clean the dishes. I’m making mom’s bags” and she left leaving Rickon to clean up.

 

 

“she’s very bossy, isn’t she?” he thought out loud making Rickon laugh.

 

 

“You’ll get used to it”

 

He was awkwardly standing in the kitchen holding the tray and wondering how in seven hells would he know where Arya’s room was.

 

 

“Second floor, the door on the right that has the “fuck off” sign on it”

 

 

He went upstairs and immediately caught sight of the “fuck off” sign, it was just so… Arya. The door was open but he knocked anyways until he heard a “get inside!” coming from a door he assumed was her own bathroom. Fuck, she even had her personal bathroom!

 

 

Arya’s room was a mess, but those types of messes that you know the owner actually knows where everything is placed. It was a reflection of her, band posters on the wall, a table with books and her laptop (he placed the food tray there). There were a bunch of medals and trophies everywhere. He walked in investigating every part of her bedroom, he was excited being there and getting to see that side of her.

 

 

By her drawer he found picture frames, a whole lot of them. He could see Arya as a kid, which made him smile. Pictures of her and Jon, pictures with her other siblings. Christmas pictures with her parents.

 

But a certain picture caught his eye the most, she was hugging two people, two guys he did not know. All three of them were on fencing gears, without the helmets. Arya was in the middle, smiling and facing the camera. Her haircut was different, a pixie. Maybe that was what she sported before letting her hair grow to how she wore it now.

 

The guy on her left was smiling at the camera, he was a blue eyed blond, those pretty blonds that look like the perfect description of high school athlete star on movies; the other guy was older and he was not facing the camera but her. He was so blond his hair was almost white and his eyes were a weird almost purple colour and he was looking at her in a way that made him hate the guy immediately. That look he was giving her implied something, perhaps there was history there and he felt jealous even when he knew he shouldn’t be, she had a life before meeting him and he should respect that. And it wasn’t as if they were anything other than friends, they may be bonded but it never implied ownership.

 

 

“Those are Edric and Aegon” she was inside the room now, wearing an old shirt and flannel pants, drying her hair with a towel. She walked until she was next to him looking at the picture.

 

 

“We used to train together” she pointed to which guy was who, blue eyed blond was Edric Dayne and then she pointed the other, he assumed to be Aegon.

 

 

“I bet you can’t guess who this guy is”

 

“No idea” he answered. He already hated this guy, she was probably going to tell him about her boyfriend or ex boyfriend.

 

 

“He’s Jon’s brother, from his dad’s side” he didn’t expect that.

 

 

“They don’t look alike at all, except for the nose they have the exact same nose, and their personalities are completely opposite. When they are together they fight like mad people all the time, it’s pretty funny. Both are named Aegon, bet you didn’t know that…” she started looking for something in her drawers “Blong Aegon likes to annoy Jon by calling him Number Two.

 

 

“That picture was taken two years ago, I think.I looked so bad with that hair, don’t know what I was thinking when I cut it myself” she laughed while taking out some t-shirt and sweatpants.

 

 

“I think you looked pretty”

 

 

“I did not look pretty then nor now”

 

 

“To me you always look pretty” he blurted out and regretted it when she looked at him with surprised wide eyes. Yet it was true, she looked good with short hair and she looks good with longer hair. He always finds her pretty, she’s the prettiest girl he has laid his eyes on. Now he could feel how his neck and ears were turning red in embarrassment. He wanted to take back what he said but he also wanted her to know he thinks she’s pretty.

 

 

Now, she was blushing hard and smiling shyly. He could sense her own embarrassment but there was something more, she was happy. Even though he was sensing multiple types of feelings, worriedness, sadness he attributed them to be about her brother in the hospital, she was also happy now. Did the fact that he finds her to be pretty made her happy?

 

 

“Here, you can wear this!” she handed him his own t-shirt, the one she stole a while back and a pair of huge sweatpants.

 

 

“Whose pants are this?” please, let them not be Aegon’s, he pleaded in his mind.

 

 

“They are Sandor’s! I once stole his pants in revenge for annoying me, and they ended up in my drawer soon after  and I never gave them back. He’s taller than you so they should fit, I think” she was offering clothes for him to stay the night, which he still didn’t think to be a good idea, he was going to tell her that he’d see her in the morning when he visited her brother.

 

 

“Please, stay. Just stay” her voice was soft and he made up his mind, he was staying the night. He went inside the bathroom to get changed and once he came out she motioned him to get on the bed. He planned on staying on the guest room as Rickon offered but Arya didn’t want to be alone. He got on her bed and she snuggled against him.

 

 

“I was scared; you know?” she spoke.

 

 

“I know” he did really know how scared she was. He wondered if she knew or if she could sense what he was feeling as he could sense her “But your brother is going to be okay, you heard the doctors” he ran his hand up and down her back.

 

 

“How come you arrived with Jon? Were you with him when Sansa called him?”

 

 

“I was with him but…” should he tell her how he felt the rush of emotions?

 

 

“But?” –she was looking at him now, interested, too interested.

 

 

“Before Sansa called him I felt something had happened. I knew something had happened to you and I called and texted you, but you didn’t answer. I just knew, I could feel it in my gut. I think I knew when you heard the news about Bran’s accident, Arya. I felt your shock, sadness, pain and anger… I don’t know… I just knew I needed to be with you” he looked at her in the eyes.

 

 

He saw the wave of emotions crossing her iron grey eyes as much as he felt them. Happiness, shock, sadness and fear. He saw again the flicker of fear crossing her eyes and he was about to ask her, at last, what she feared so much that made her reject their match when she leaned in and kissed him, on the cheek.

 

 

“Thank you, for being there” he could feel himself grinning a goofy smile. He could feel the blush emerging all over his face, neck and ears. And he could feel she meant her thanks.

 

 

“Let’s sleep, Arya. You need to rest” he was there, in her bed with her cuddled against him and he wanted her, he so wanted her but it was not only lust. He wanted to make her happy, smile and to make her troubles go away. She hugged him closer and after a short time she fell into a slumber.

 

And Sansa was right, Arya did wake up in the middle of the night hungry. When morning came he had breakfast with the Stark siblings and he carried a hundred bags onto a big truck and drove them all to the hospital. That Sunday, he met Ned Stark, for the second time in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *spoiler*  
> What a bad ending for the show. I hated it.  
> In my mind, Arya sailed with Gendry and Hotpie tagging along with her, the family she encountered on the way. Gods, I hated it so much.
> 
> Anyways, here's another chapter.  
> Comment, bookmark and kudo if you like.  
> I really like reading your comments :)  
> Have a nice day!


	8. Chapter 8

 

“Are you finishing university next semester?”

 

“Yes, I am”

 

“And Jon told me you’re top of your class, is it true?

 

“Top five” he sheepishly said

 

“And you’re majoring in?”

 

“Mechanical engineer”

 

“How tall are you?”

 

“1.95cm”

 

“Oh my, you’re so tall. Favourite food?”

 

“Stew”

 

“Stew? There are many kinds of stew, which one do you prefer?

 

“To be honest, any kind. Stew is comforting and it’s always good”

 

“Oh, that is nice to hear. And do you practice any sport? Do you belong to some club or team at university?”

 

“I like playing football, rugby and ice hockey. I don’t really belong to a club now, I don’t have time for training practices, but I usually play sports with friends. Lately I’ve been playing football and rugby with Jon, Robb and Theon but I also play with some friends from work. I like running and I go to the gym five times a week, usually in the mornings”

 

“That explains why you’re so in shape and do you have any hobbies or what do you like doing on your spare time?”

 

“I’m pretty busy most of the time but I like watching movies and read when I’m at home but most of my spare time I spend it working on cars, sometimes I paint but mostly I do metalworking”

 

“Metalworking?”

 

“Yes”

 

“What do you do?”

 

“Sometimes I do metal statues, simple jewellery, I don’t know what comes into my mind at the moment, sometimes I do custom knives for fun and to get some extra cash. My foster father owns an autoshop and on the back he made a place for metalworking, introduced me to it when I was younger and I spent all my time in there, it kept me out of trouble and I just enjoyed it so much that now I use his space even more than him”

 

“That’s very interesting, Gendry. And what do you like drawing? Or what do you use?”

 

“Mostly things I see on daily basis, animals, people, what I want to sculpt since most of my drawings are sketches. When I draw I usually I use colour pencils, charcoal, oil paint. It depends what I have on hand at the moment or what I imagine…”

 

“And how did you get into that?”

 

“My mum she was into arts, anytime she took me with her to work she’d always bring stuff for me to do and mostly she bought me color pencils and drawing was one of the things I did to pass time when she brought me to work, and I liked it. Sculpting and working with metal was something Tobho introduced me to and is what I really enjoy most of all”

 

“I’d would like to see your work one day if possible. Do you play any instrument?”

 

“Never quite got the hang of it, unfortunately”

 

“I know you’re a good mechanic, how long have you been working at the auto shop?”

 

“Ever since I moved here when I was still in school” –

 

“Do you have siblings?”

 

“Yes, four… that I know of”

 

“Older or younger?”

 

“Mya is older than me, Edric is one year younger, Bella is eighteen and Barra is twelve”

 

“What are your plans after university?”

 

“Well, I’m planning on starting an internship this semester, then put my degree to use and get a proper job”

 

“But is it something you really want? you seem like you want to do art mostly…”

 

“Yeah, but it’s more for passing time, really…” again that subject he didn’t want to talk about

 

“And would you mind traveling a lot?”

 

“uhmm, not really. I mean I’m not planning on traveling now but I don’t know… I’ve never picture myself traveling but I think I’d like to at some point, get to know new places and people”

 

“Are you afraid of dogs or animals in general?”

 

“No… I really like dogs. I really like the pets you got here, being playing with Nymeria today, Ghost is cool too, even Shaggydog is pretty fun” in fact, NYmeria was resting next to him.

 

“People are a bit afraid of them since they’re so big. Nymeria, she’s kinda shy with people but she seems to really like you”

 

How did he get into this situation?  Ah yes, it was Jon’s fault.

 

He was now being interrogated by Catelyn Stark and he managed to find out the origin of Arya’s interrogation skills. It almost felt dejavu like.

 

It all began when he accompanied Arya to visit Bran who had been at the hospital for almost two weeks recovering in a great way, but he still couldn’t walk and he would need physical therapy ito see if he’d be able to recover movement in his legs. In order to help him move around, they needed to install metal handles on certain parts of the house, for him to grab on and not fall down. They would also need to install ramps at certain points of the house  

 

But guess who volunteered Gendry for the job of installing the ramp and metal bars around the house?

 

Jon did.

 

“Well, Gendry has welding equipment and all those tools needed for the task and he knows how to work metal! He can do it, right Gendry? You can help us install the ramps and all.”

 

Of course, Arya’s mother was super excited and commented on how kind and dashing Gendry was. She would always try to talk to him and Arya would try to take him away from her. But today he was alone with that woman and he was nervous as fuck. Jon told him it was okay for him to go and install that shit up that morning, also the guy forgot to mention he wouldn’t be there and Arya was on her fencing practice.

 

Since his arrival he was bombarded with people all around. First Catelyn Stark offering him everything she could to make him comfortable, Robb was trying to convince him to join his hockey team, Sansa feeding him like if he hadn’t eaten for days, Rickon tagged along him watching him install everything because it seemed “so cool” in his opinion, but he was actually helpful. Since he liked Rickon he didn’t even care and made him his assistant, the one who would hand him all the tools he needed until it was time for Rickon to go and take Shaggydog for a walk by the wood; Robb had gone to see Jeyne and Sansa had left because she was buying furniture for Bran’s new bedroom.

 

When he was left alone Catelyn came back and started the police questioning.

 

It was the second time he was at the Stark manor, he managed to get to know each of the other Starks better since they were all over the place and even Theon, who was visiting his family when Bran’s accident happened but now was back.

 

He really wanted Catelyn Stark to like him, he suspected she already did base on how she commented on his handsomeness (which he did not know he had) and manners.

 

But what Gendry wanted most Ned Stark to like him even more, when he met Arya’s dad at the hospital he was terrified and shocked because he had met the man before, even when they hadn’t been introduced the previous time. The guy was so imposing, calm and plain cool. The first time meeting him, Ned Stark eyed him carefully, almost too carefully. He didn’t talk much to the guy to be honest, just cordialities and greetings each time they ran into each other while visiting Bran.

 

 

But there was one time that got him worried. Arya showed up at the auto shop, like she usually did and he drove her to the hospital as she had took the habit of treating him like her personal driver. When they arrived the room was so crowded with Bran’s friends and family that they decided to spend a while outside on the hospital hallway.

 

He teased Arya with something and she punched him lightly in the arm laughing and calling him stupid like she usually did, they started almost playing softly when they felt someone watching them, both of them turned and saw Ned Stark looking at them with an odd look in his face. The guy was pale, like if he had seen a ghost.

 

Perhaps that was the moment he figured out that Arya and him were matched, but it didn’t seem like it. Arya’s father looked scared, concerned and almost worried.

 

“I think I’m done, Lady Stark. Unless you’d like me to fix something for you or help installing anything else?”

 

“Oh, I don’t think any more needs to be done. Thank you so much, Gendry. And please, call me Catelyn” he felt himself blushing.

 

“Alright, Catelyn…” it felt odd “If everything is done then I think I’lll be heading home” the Stark mother just thanked him again, said there was no problem for him to wait in the living room if he wanted to wait for Jon or Arya and offered him something to eat, again, while he waited for Jon to show up. He refused, claiming to be on his way home. She invited him to Sunday brunch, but he couldn’t go since he was going to spend the weekend with her younger sisters who were visiting, Catelyn went all “aww” on him when he mentioned that.

 

 

Just as he was saying his goodbyes to his soulmate’s mother a car pulled over on the driveway.

 

“ah, Ned is here. He said he wanted to talk to you if you were still around whenever he arrived home” the woman smiled softly. In a matter of minutes, Ned Stark was entering the house.

 

“Good morning, Gendry” the man in front of him saluted and asked him politely to follow him towards a room on the first floor, an office. The eldest Stark closed the door and motioned for him to sit down on the chair in front of a big and elegant wooden desk. It was beautifully crafted, with details Gendry would admire if he wasn’t so scared.

 

 

“I’d like to have a word with you” –

 

“Is there any problem, sir?”

 

“no, do not worry. I just wanted to talk about certain things” Gendry took a deep breath and waited, he looked down but it would mean he was intimidated, which he was, but that was not the impression he wanted to give. He took a deep breath and looked up.

 

“What about it, sir?” he looked the older man in the eye. Perhaps he was being disrespectful but he really didn’t care. He wanted to seem strong, that he had more in him than being just a lowborn bastard.

 

“You showed great skill on fixing my car, I examined it myself. The engine was built from scratch, not anybody can do that. There was a lot of work, delicate work and I hear you alone worked on it” the guy was analysing him, like Jon did when he waited for him by his bike all those months ago.

 

Looking closely at the man in front of him he could see how much he looked like Jon and Arya. Sansa and Robb, even Bran and Rickon, were too much alike, physically, to their mother while Jon and Arya were more Starks than their siblings.

 

“Thank you, sir” clearing his throat he wondered if there was something more Eddard Stark wanted to talk about “it was a nice project, I worked hard and it payed off it seems”.

 

“You’re very talented Gendry, I’ve looked into your history. Top of your class in high school, star athlete, top five on your class in university. You are a great mechanic and I heard you’re quite good with the arts. I want to offer you something”

 

“What is it, sir?” he fidgeted nervously on his spot. He was being tested, analysed and studied.

 

“You’re smart, you have manners and you’re a very charming man. I’ve seen you this past few days, how you treat my youngest sons, how you treat with such cordiality my wife and eldest daughter, how you don’t let the teases from Robb and Theon get to you and how well you get along with Jon. But most of all, I see how you treat Arya” so this was where this conversation was going or at least he could manage an idea of it, he needed to ask further.

 

“I don’t quite follow, sir”

 

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Jon, he told me he met you on college. When I saw your work I was impressed and looked further”

 

“Further into what, sir?” he put emphasis the sir. He wanted the man to get to the point once and for all.

 

“I talked to Mott the other day, he told me some things about you. When we first met I went to make sure you were being taken care of, I’m glad he did. I hope you remember when we first met, even though I didn’t introduce myself that time and I apologize for that”

 

“Yes, long time ago we met, I remember” one time Eddard Stark showed up at the shop, to talk to Tobho. He saw him but didn’t introduce himself to him, just looked at him as if confirming something and that was it.

 

“I went to meet you because I discovered you existed, went to check you were okay and treated well. Your real name is Gendry Baratheon, you know that. You’re the son of Robert Baratheon, I’m sure your uncles have filled you in that part” there was no judgement so far in the tone of voice of the man he was speaking to.

 

“Yes, sir. They have”

 

“I know your father”

 

“That makes one of us” that earned a chuckle from Eddard.

 

“I’m sorry. There is history there, but it would take time to explain and that’s not what I really intend to talk to you about today. I can tell you all about that whenever you want, if you’d like to know, that’s it”

 

“I don’t…”

 

“I think you have a great future ahead of you but I also heard something. I heard Arya and Jon talking, both think you only want to work corporate because the old stupid saying of how the arts don’t pay and how you don’t want to be only a mechanic. I’m making you this offer, work for me and with me, learn and if you like it, you stay at the company or emancipate but you’ll get a hold of this types of businesses. You’ll have flexible hours, you’ll have time on the field work since it’s your speciality but you would have enough time for your art and hobbies or studying them if you like. The pay will be good, even for a starter, not that you need it in reality”

 

“It sound pretty interesting, sir. But, sir, why are you doing this? And why would you say I don’t need the money?” he was truly lost, completely lost. How much about him does this man know?

 

“Aw, so you don’t know” the man smiled softly “That explains a lot, Stannis is very clever man” 

 

“Sir, I don’t understand” 

 

“You talk to Stannis and Renly, don’t you? They made you meet your siblings and have been kind to you always, right?”

 

“Yes…”

 

“You see, there is rivalry on the Baratheon brothers, very deep one. Even when Stannis and Renly don’t really get along, those two believe Robert to be unfit to lead their company, to which at some extent is true. That is why I work with him and for him. I ran Stark industries, the mines an all but I’m also minoritarian shareholder of Baratheon Corp and advisor to the lead shareholder, which is Robert” 

 

“Sir I don’t…”

 

“You’re a shareholder too, Gendry”

 

“What?!” the man laughed at his surprise.

 

“Robert gave you his last name, even though you have never met him. He has legitimized every one of his children, your sisters and brother carry the last name too, right?”

 

“Yes… but”

 

“that was arranged by someone, the one who discovered you in the foster system and made sure you ended up in a proper place, an old friend of mine named Jon Arryn. He tracked every single woman who had been with Robert and found out about his kids. Robert is a good person but irresponsible to say the least and he has lost certain part of him and the ones who ended up paying for that were his children” the man sighed “I hoped he didn’t end up like that, but it’s a lost cause now, I’m afraid. I’m sad I couldn’t help him more”

 

“When you were born, Jon Arryn made sure Robert put a percentage amount of stocks in your name. Also, he has set up trust funds for every one of his children. They can’t be touched until you are 25 years old, which you’ll be in a few weeks. Stannis and Renly both know it, the fact that they haven’t told you worries me but I think it’s more of Stannis doing than Renly’s. Their idea is in case Robert really starts making bad decisions at the company, convey you and each one of your siblings to support them and overthrown the main shareholder. Your stocks, plus your siblings and the amount of hold Renly and Stannis share would make a very important vote on board meetings, one that cannot be ignored. When Robert dies you’ll inherit a fair share of his stocks, too”  

 

He was utterly shocked, he had just found out he had shareholding on one of the biggest companies on this continent, he had a trust fund and he was offered a job all in the expand of a few minutes.

 

“You, Gendry, are a very wealthy man. You probably won’t have the need to work a day in your life once you turn 25. The revenues from your shareholding are on a bank account, I already called the lawyers for you to get a grip on them, it’ll take a couple of signatures from you and I can get you a lawyer to explain how it’ll work but once that is done, you’ll be a very wealthy man” 

 

“But I like working…”

 

“And that’s a very noble quality and speaks highly of you, Gendry”

 

“But, sir, if I’m wealthy” there seem to be a lot of trouble for his brain to process that information “I could’ve help my mother I mean… she was sick!”

 

“I didn’t know of Robert’s kids after Jon passed away. He had left a letter addressed to me, I got it at his funeral when his wife gave it to me. He had tried keeping you and your siblings hidden to grant you safety from Robert’s ex-wife, who’s a dangerous woman. He confided in Stannis and Renly to figure out how to protect you and your brothers, they opted to set the trustfunds and stocks, and Robert just signed things without even looking which is wrong but made things easier. Once I took charge of matters I found out too late about your mother’s condition and she had, sadly, already passed away. If I had known, believe me, I would have showed up and explain this to you sooner and I would’ve made sure she got the greatest care possible. Stannis had already paid for your mother’s burial when I wanted to approach you, he payed the medical bills too. Apparently, they didn’t know your mother had been ill until it was too late. I’m sorry we couldn’t help you before, I’ m sure Stannis and Renly must feel the same too. I think Renly and Stannis didn’t want you to know about your inheritances so you wouldn’t turn up like Cersei’s kids and I think they’re right. But I though you ought to know by now about the shareholding.” 

 

“Sir, but… I don’t know what to say!”

 

“First, call me Ned. And I can’t even imagine how surprised you must be. And I don’t want you to think poorly of your uncles. Stannis may be a difficult man, but he has the best intentions for his family in my opinion. I’ve talked to Renly, he’s been dealing with Robert mostly and keeping him alive. As far as Robert, he doesn’t really know about you all, he knows you were born but he doesn’t want to get close to anyone. After all the issue with Lyanna, something broke in him and he’s just…” the man looked for the right words “he’s broken”.

 

“Sir, I mean Ned I can’t just accept that I mean… and why doesn’t Robert want to meet me, or Mya, Edric, Barra, Bella? Why?! Why doesn’t he tell me himself about all that?! I mean.. I … what is the issue with him?!”

 

“I’m not sure, but I think It lies upon the fact that you’ll be a part of a painful memory of what could have been. He’s been selfish, yes but he has a valid reason in his mind. I hope that with time he’ll realise his mistake and apologize. I can’t excuse him, but I think I understand him yet I think one day you two would need to talk face to face, you deserve an explanation”

 

“Could have been what?!”

 

“I think he fears to see you and your siblings as the kids he could’ve had with my sister Lyanna if they both had been matched to one another” 

 

“I don’t understand. That is… sir, that is stupid that…” 

 

“That is a long story in itself. Robert was heartbroken when the person he believed to be his mate was matched to someone who wasn’t him; he lost himself when my sister chose Rhaeghar and when she passed away, well he was never the same. Nobody was ever the same after that” Eddard sighed sadly “Now, I want you to think about my offer. You have now the option of working with me, learn and path your own way upon that. If you don’t like it, you won’t have to worry and you can search your own path. Just know, you have more than one option now, Gendry. Think about it and then give me your answer, it doesn’t have to be now”

 

He stood quiet, shocked, scared, angry. He had never had a hold of his life and now he was being thrown with surprise after surprise.

 

“You and Robert look alike, a lot. Nonetheless, I think that’s where the similarity ends from what I’ve heard and seen of you. You seem to be a good man, Gendry. You have qualities your father lacks” the man in front of him looked at him with more eagerness now “Now, another topic” Gendry lifted his head to look the man in the eye again. What, was he a prince now? A power ranger? The chosen one?

 

“You and Arya, I’ve seen you” ah, that topic.

 

“What exactly have you seen, sir?” he couldn’t help the edge in his voice, he was angry.

 

“You are _her_ soulmate, I believe” he looked down. Even when he was a new rich guy, he was still a bastard. Maybe Stark would have a problem with it “It’s curious how the fates work” the man looked away as if he was lost in a memory for a second “Have you talked to her about it?”

 

“Not exactly. We’re friends but…”

 

“You care for her”

 

“I do”

 

“Is she yours?”

 

“Is she my what?”

 

“Is she _Your_ soulmate” -

 

“yes…” that question disoriented him, wasn’t it an obvious fact that he’d be her soulmate just as she was his? “I think it is pretty obvious”

 

“You’ll be surprise how the obvious could be wrong. Anyways, I guess history won’t repeat itself. I believe you both will figure it out eventually. I’m not meddling in there, it’s all up to you and her. Good luck on that one, boy. My little wolf is a bit of a handle, my wife has taken a liking of you as far as I can say and I’m on my way there too” and the man lifted from his seat to serve himself a drink.

 

“I’d offer you one, but you’re driving your bike. I’d suggest your first shopping spree to be a car. Even though I used to ride a motorcycle when I was younger, I’d be much more relieved if you drive my daughter around on a proper car and please, don’t buy a freaking sports car because she hates them. She made fun of Robb for that for years”

 

Whatever Ned Stark was saying he couldn’t focus on it, he needed to get out.

 

“I think I’m gonna go sir, goodbye” he was going to leave on a rush.

 

“Gendry” Eddard stopped him “I know it’s a lot to take in. Once you get your head around it, know that you can always come and talk to me. I’m sure you can talk to Stannis and Renly too, and if you want to see Robert for whatever reason, know that I will have your back”.

 

He ran out of the house.

 

Now he wanted to burst things, smash like the Hulk and sulk his fury and anger. He needed to leave, immediately. He hoped on his bike and went flying, he passed Arya’s jeep on the way out but he couldn’t see her at the moment, didn’t want to, actually. There were times people needed to be alone for a while, like now he needed to figure out how his life had changed in a matter of minutes.

 

Rushing to the only place he could vent. He parked his bike and started getting rid of his clothes on the way to the back of the shop. His blue bottom down, his black t-shirt underneath it. It was cold, winter was getting closer but he didn’t care he was going to be sweating in a matter of seconds. It was luck that the shop was closed on weekends.

 

He turned on the heaters, the welding equipment, the fires, poured oil on vases and grabbed metal bars with giant tweezers, he forgot to put on safety gloves and when the metal was too hot it burned his hand slightly. He hissed, he cursed he didn’t care as he grabbed his hammer and placed the glove on his other hand.

 

_Pound._

 

He was a bastard.

 

_Pound._

 

His uncles were only playing nice to use him as a pawn in their power schemes.

 

_Pound._

 

His father did know about him but didn’t want to meet him.

 

_Pound_

 

He was forced to move to Winterfell.

 

_Pound_

 

His mother got sick.

 

_Pound_

_Pound_

His mother died

 

_Pound_

 

_Twist_

_Shape_

_Pound_

His life was never how he wanted it to be.

 

_Pound_

He was matched against his will

 

_Pound_

He was thrown into a big family all of a sudden.

 

_Pound_

 

His soulmate still ran away from him every time she could

 

_Pound_

 

He had always had the money to help his sick mother and he didn’t know it.

 

_Pound_

 

He was just another vote against his father on the board of his company

 

_Pound_

 

He never got a say in anything in his life

 

_Pound_

 

He pounded all his rage away, until his body was exhausted and he couldn’t lift his hammer anymore, until it fell down to the floor with a thump and he yelled, he screamed his frustration away. Pieces of deformed metal were all around, it was in his favour the shop was closed on Saturdays.

 

How long had it been? It was getting dark and cold was starting to creep into him but he didn’t care now as he was on the ground, his knees supporting his weight and his breathing was hard, rough and uneven. He felt like crying, out of rage, out of sadness, out of having no control over his life at all. Everything, nothing, all at once.

 

A soft hand was placed lightly on the back of his neck, caressing until someone was standing in front of him. She was there, she had been there for a while he knew it. In one swift motion, he brought her closer trapping her within arms, burying his face on her and engulfing her in a tight type of hug. She was surprised for a moment, indicated by the yelp that escaped her lips, still she hugged him back.

 

Even when he was kneeled down, she only managed to be a little more than a head taller than him.  But in his mind, it was the perfect size for her to be, his body fitted perfectly there as she hugged him back, caressing his head and gently stroking his back until he calmed down. Just as easily as she infuriated him, confused him and made him feel a hundred things all at once she managed to calm his down.

 

He could feel himself relaxing against her, his breathing evening out and finally some anger diminishing, slowly.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“No, I don’t know” he answered still engulfed in her. He pulled away from her to look up, to look her in the eyes. She was worried, he sensed it. Her hands moved away from his back to pull the hair away from his face and cradle it.

 

“What happened?” her voice was just a whisper

 

They were so closed, him still not letting her go and the intense eye contact. He could see every piece of emotion in her eyes, those grey pools that almost made him forget everything that bothered him a minute ago.

 

“Everything” that earned a soft chuckle from her

 

“Tell me”

 

He got up, slowly with his eyes still locked on her.

 

“I… My life was not what I thought it was. Stannis only wanted to use me, I could’ve help my mother, arya” he wanted to cry, a knot had built inside of him.

 

“I’m sorry” shame, she was feeling shame. Why would she?

 

“Did you know? About my father? About my uncles?”

 

“I…” she did know, anger started building inside of him again “please, don’t get mad” she pleaded but he couldn’t help it “I don’t know much, but my father mentioned something a few days ago but he wanted to talk to you about it personally, he made me promise…”

 

“You should’ve told me”

 

“I know” she looked down “But I promised him…”

 

“Fuck that! I’m your soulmate!” he was angry and she winced at the mention of their bond “You’re never going to accept that, aren’t you?” It was the first time it had been properly brought up and she still avoided it.

 

“What?”

 

“You know what I’m talking about. I thought we were more than that! I thought we were at least friends, but why would be? I’m just entertainment for you”

 

“No…! No! We’re… you are… you are important”

 

“Not enough for you to tell me the truth, not enough for you to accept me! Why would you? Everyone just uses me, rejects me. I’m just a pawn” he could feel the pain creep inside of him, he felt Arya’s pain too and it angered him even more “I’m leaving” he needed to get away from it all. He turned, he grabbed things slong the way.

 

He could feel her getting angry at him, he could feel her sad and worried but he just wanted to clear his head.

 

“You are important to me, Gendry. But there are things, I… I don’t want to be like Lyanna, I don’t...”

 

“You don’t what, Arya?” he turned around to look at her, she looked small, frightened. It was the first time she had shown so much emotion, her guard was finally down.

 

“I don’t want to hurt you”

 

He scoffed “And what have you been doing? Leaving when we get close? Ignoring me for days whenever you feel like it? I tried to keep away from you, but you searched me out. You’ve been fucking hurting me this whole time, knowing it or not. I don’t know what is you’re afraid of, but that’s not it. I’m tired of being used, I’m tired of being lied to. I’m leaving”.

 

“Gendry…” her voice broke something inside of him.

 

“I want to be alone” he turned around and left, leaving a piece of him behind.

**Author's Note:**

> I published this story on a different plataform and never got around to finish it. I'm trying to improve it and give it a proper ending so bare with me.
> 
> So, since I'm changing and trying to improve and finish this story any suggestion can and will be appreciated. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this.


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